Varieties

The Loire Valley therefore boasts a wide variety of grape varieties, some of which are emblematic: 

• Chenin: also known as Pineau de la Loire, is native to the Loire. Harvested at the beginning of the harvest, it produces racy dry white wines with fine bubbles. At the end of the harvest, it gives rise to the great sweet and syrupy wines of the Loire.
• Melon B: a unique grape variety of the Muscadet PDO, it imparts finesse to the wine thanks to its crystalline rock soil.
• Sauvignon blanc: Grown mainly in the Loire, it's a sensitive grape variety. The aromatic nuances developed by Sauvignon Blanc wines are multiple and influenced by terroir and climate
• Chardonnay: Grown on stony, clayey-siliceous or clayey-limestone soils, it gives its best when combined with other Loire white grape varieties, notably for Crémant de Loire or Saumur brut appellations
La folle blanche: This hardy variety is used to produce AOP Gros Plant du Nantais wines and adapts to a wide variety of climates and soils

• Cabernet franc: Usually vinified on its own, it finds its full expression in the Loire. The Loire's leading red grape variety, it is used for appellations such as Saumur-Champigny, Chinon, St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Bourgueil, Anjou...
  This grape is also used to produce Loire rosés like Cabernet d'Anjou or in blends like Touraine
• the gamay: More at home on clay-siliceous and granitic soils than on limestone, it can give results that are both surprising and original, especially when used in blends with Cabernet or Côt.
• Grolleau: Native to Touraine, it produces easy-drinking, fruity, semi-dry rosés. After Cabernet Franc and Gamay, it is the most widely planted red grape variety in the Loire. Vigorous and resistant, it still accounts for one-sixth of the region's total production.
• Pineau d'Aunis: Pineau d'Aunis is a rare grape variety planted mainly in the Loir valley between Vendôme and Angers. It produces light-colored, fairly tannic red and rosé wines with a dominant spicy, peppery character. When tasted, it brings a certain freshness and notes of red fruits such as strawberry, raspberry and morello cherry.
• The côt (Malbec): This grape variety has found its area of predilection in
  Touraine and, more precisely in the Cher valley, as far as Amboise, where it has seriously competed with Grolleau. It is often used in blends with Cabernet Franc and/or Gamay in the Touraine vineyards.
• Cabernet Sauvignon: It expresses itself particularly well on the schists of the Anjou-Villages and Brissac AOCs, providing an interesting tannic structure. It is a good complement to Cabernet Franc, to which it brings tannic structure and color, although it is much less widespread than the latter in the Loire.