Wine & Spirits

Luscious Loire

Where Wines Are as Stunning as the Chateaux

    “So you are a Frankenstein?” a waiter asked when I was ordering a bottle of wine recently. Needless to say, I was a little confused. “Someone who loves Cabernet Franc,” he explained. While I had never heard the term, indeed I am a Frankenstein, and an unrepentant one at that. I find the wines made from this grape to be so elegant and food-friendly that I would gladly drink them at every meal.
    Although some wines are produced from Cabernet Franc in the United States, and it’s used as a blending grape in both California and Bordeaux, its true home is the Loire Valley, an incredibly diverse region that runs from France’s Atlantic Coast inland to the heart of the country, south of Paris.
    The Loire is perhaps most famous for its many chateaux, like the spectacular Chenonceau, and makes a great weekend trip from Paris. A drive along the wind-whipped banks of the Loire River is idyllic, and you can even stay in such old renovated chateaux as Le Clos de Ligré, right outside of the charming town of Chinon. (If weather permits, don’t miss grabbing a bite in the charming sunflower-bedecked garden at La Table de Bea.)
    But the Loire also produces a huge range of style of wines and has always been known for its graceful and balanced whites. Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, both made from Sauvignon Blanc, are the region’s best-known white wines. (I am a wine-museum geek, and the
museum in the town of Sancerre, which documents its great namesake wine’s history, is one of the better wine museums I have visited.) The sweet wines of Vouvray, made from Chenin Blanc, and the simple whites from the coastal area of Muscadet, made from a grape called melon de Bourgogne, probably come in a close second.
    However, many of the lesser-known and hard to pronounce reds, such as Chinon and Bourgueil, are stunning wines, great values and worth seeking out. Baudry-Dutour’s Cuvee Domaine du Roncée and Domaine de la Chevalerie Bourgueil were two of my favorites on my last trip.
    I am so pleased to see more of these wines popping up on wine lists, both by the bottle and by the glass. The Cabernet Franc–based “Frankenstein” trio of Chinon, Saumur and Bourgueil are perfect with a wide range of foods, much like Pinot Noir. At Rockridge’s À Côté, general manager Jeff Berlin usually carries eight to 10 Loire wines ($32–$36 a bottle) on his list at any time. “Overall they tend to have really vibrant acidity. And that’s one of the most important characteristics in food pairing,” Berlin says, and he is equally passionate about the region in general, adding, “You can’t really find a bad wine from the Loire Valley.”
    Loire Valley wines “have fresh fruit, lots of character and are not over-oaked,” says Wilfred Wong, cellarmaster at the Concord,
Calif.–based Beverages and More! His Oakland location carries a dozen Loire wines ($8–$15). However, he cautions that the taste profile can be “very different from what the public has been trained to like.” I will fill in the blanks for him: Loire wines aren’t (thankfully) big, oaky, high-alcohol fruit bombs. They are best paired with food so the acidity doesn’t seem overwhelming.
    Wines from the Loire Valley are among the best values in France, according to Marc Gallant, president and CEO of the Stamford, Conn.–based Limited Edition Imports Inc., which imports several Loire wines. And many are suitable for both immediate consumption and long-term aging. On my trip, I had a 1997 Bourgueil from Chateau de la Chevalierie that was still drinking beautifully.
    Gallant notes that lack of marketing and the hurdles of pronunciation have hampered acceptance of these wines in our country. Also, the absence of one big or noted producer, such as Rothschild in Bordeaux or the negociant Mason Louis Jadot in Burgundy, who can put a region’s name on the market, has been a factor in keeping people from getting to know these beautiful wines. But that almost makes seeking them out more fun, as the wines come from smaller producers, most of which are still family owned, each representing a different style: Every taste is a new adventure. This is something you won’t find in regions rife with corporate big guns.
    So I strongly suggest next time you are cooking a simple meal at home, pop open a simple bottle from the Loire and see if you want to join me in the world of Frankensteins.

Travel Tips

    If you do travel to Loire, here are tips for a place to stay, a great meal and two must-visit sites:
    Accommodations in the renovated Chateau Le Clos de Liger: 22 Rue de Roily, 37500 Liger, 0033-02-47-93-95-59,
www.le-clos-de-ligre.com.
    The stunning Chateau de Chenonceau: 37150 Chenonceaux, 0033-02-47-23-90-07, www.chenonceau.com/media/gb/index_gb.php.
    The Sancerre Museum: www.maison-des-sancerre.com/en/home.
    La Table du Bea: 15 Rue Chateau, 37220 Crissay sur Manse, 0033-02-47-58-53-88.
    For more Loire Valley travel information, visit www.loirevalleytourism.com.