The Loire Valley surrounds the longest river in France, and encompasses the most appellations in any classical wine region. Near its eastern edge lies the city of Tours, and just to its east, the town of Vouvray. Vouvray is well known for its white chenin blanc wine, named aptly "Vouvray". These wines are made 100% from the chenin blanc grape.

There are seven townships in this appellation, which falls in the touraine district of the Loire. The Vouvray appellation was only created in 1936, although monasteries worked with wine for centureis before that time. Note that chenin blanc wines in the other parts of the world are called merely chenin blanc.

Vouvray can be affected strongly by terroir, or the composition of the soil the grape is grown in. Those from clay soil might tend towards a fruity flavor, while those made on perruches (flinty clay) soil might taste more of minerals. Vouvray is typically drunk young, within 6 months of bottling, around 3 years from when the grapes are picked. However, fine years of Vouvray have been known to last up to 100 years in excellent condition.

The Vouvray wine cellar, or Cave des Producteurs des Grands Vins de Vouvray, was formed around fourty years ago and is a "common storage" for a large group of growers here. A wine-tasting board decides which wines will be aged here. The cellar has a capacity of 2 million bottles.

Vouvray tends towards a sweet but dry flavor, again, affected by where it is grown. Typical flavors include lemon, fruit, and minerals. Some vouvray wines have flavors of apples and pears. The richer style of Vouvray is called moelleux. Moelleux tends to be a more pure gold color, and has flavors of honey, caramel and prunes.

Vouvray goes very well with shellfish, lobsters, shrimp, and seafood. It should be drunk at around 47F - i.e. warmer than the 35F standard fridge temperature. Let your vouvray warm up a bit so you can better smell its flavors. Vouvray is usually drunk within 2 years of its release.

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All content on the WineIntro website is personally written by author and wine enthusiast Lisa Shea. WineIntro explores the delicious variety and beautiful history which makes up our world of wine! Lisa loves supporting local wineries and encouraging people to drink whatever they like. We all have different taste buds, and that makes our world wonderful. Always drink responsibly.