There is no river in the world that crosses so many and at the same time diverse wine growing regions in its course as the Loire. The origins of viticulture on the banks of the river are somewhat obscure, but vines were probably planted here as early as 100 AD. It is considered certain that viticulture has been practiced here since the 5th century AD. The first wine growing area is already in the estuary of the Loire on the cool and moist Atlantic coast. From here comes the Muscadet, a light, tangy and rather neutral wine from the grape variety Melon de Bourgogne.
The best Muscadets come from Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine. The addition of "sur lie" indicates that it has been on the lees for at least six months and has been racked off the lees. This makes for much more complex and sophisticated wines. Upstream is the next region of note - Savennières - and here begins the reign of the Chenin Blanc grape variety. Savennières has become famous for one of the most important and influential organic wines, "La Coulée de Serrant" by Nicolas Joly. The noble sweet wines of the Coteaux-du-Layon can also turn out excellent and enjoy an outstanding reputation.
Saumur on the middle course of the Loire is a centre for the production of the Crémant sparkling wine, here of course as Crémant de Loire. The bottles are allowed to age and rest in old tufa vaults. Still wines are also produced from the varieties Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. This also applies to the adjoining areas of Vouvray and Montlouis, where still wines and sparkling wines are produced from these same varieties. On the upper reaches of the Loire, there are two famous origins of dry white wines from the Sauvignon Blanc variety - Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre, exactly opposite each other on both sides of the river. The Sauvignons Blanc that grows here mostly on limestone and flint soils can be among the best in the world, also a little rosé and red wine is produced from the Pinot Noir variety.
