L: Good morning Xiaolu, we are Loire Valley
spectators. Welcome to our blog conversation. I’m very glad to see you again.
X: Thank you so much, it’s my pleasure to participate
in this interview.
L: The last time you told me that you are very
interested in wine from the Loire Valley, at the same time we received lots of
demands for many foreign friends about the history of Loire chateaus, the royal
family of Loire, and especially the wine of Loire Valley. That’s the reason why
we created Loire Valley spectator’s Blog for the wine amateurs like you.
X: That’s great, in China, there are more and more
wine amateurs who want to know more about wine besides the Bordeaux wine, I
think your Blog is a good way to help us to study wines of Loire Valley. I
would really like to thank you for that.
L: It’s my pleasure. What do you know about the wine
of Loire Valley? Have you ever tasted it before?
X: I’ve participated in an exposition of Loire wine in
Shanghai in 2011. I’ve tasted a very good white wine, but I can’t remember the
grape variety. That’s all I know about the wine of Loire Valley. Can you tell
me something Important about the wine regions?
L: Absolutely, in fact the Loire Valley is at the
center of France, it is famous for its natural scenes, marvelous châteaux and
different kinds of wine. The region is rich in history and culture :
Renaissance writer Rabelais was born here; Joan of Arc led French troops to
victory in the Hundred Years’ War in the Loire; and it’s known as the Cradle of
the French Language. The Loire Valley contains 5 distinct wine regions, from
west to east we have : Pays Nantais, Anjou, Saumur, Touraine and Centre-Loire,
each with its own grapes varieties, terroirs and micro climates.
X: That sounds
interesting, but I don’t know which region produces which kind of wine, can you
explain it to me?
L: It’s difficult to separate the wine by region,
because we usually find the same style of wine in different regions. So, in
Loire Valley, we separate the different wines by their grape varieties, for example:
Crisp Dry
White Varietals: Melon de Bourgogne, Romorantin, Sauvignon Blanc
Rich Aromatic
White Varietals: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
Sweet
Varietals: Chenin Blanc
Dry Rosé
Varietals: Cabernet Franc, Grolleau, Pinot Gris
Off-Dry Rosé
Varietals: Cabernet Franc, Grolleau
Fruity Red
Varietals: Gamay, Pineau d’Aunis, Pinot Noir
Earthy Red
Varietals: Cabernet Franc, Malbec
Sparkling
Varietals: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Grolleau
X: Wow, there are so many kinds of wines in Loire
Valley, I think I need sometime to remember these.
L: No, you don’t need to remember all of these, it’s
better to remember when you taste the wine. Furthermore, we are going to
prepare a fantastic tasting of Loire wine for our friends who are interested in
Loire wine, I’ll let you know about the date.
X: That sounds great, Thanks a lot.
L: Thank you for attending our blog conversation too.
