Definition: Vouvray

Touraine region in the Loire Valley. Production area located just east of Tours, on the right bank of the Loire, more precisely within the municipalities of Chançay, Noizay, Parçay-Meslay, Reugny, Rochecorbon, Tours (Sainte-Radegonde), Vernou-sur-Brenne and Vouvray in the Indre-et-Loire department. Classified as an AOC in 1936. Area under production: just over 2,040 hectares, including the production of sparkling and semi-sparkling Vouvray wines. White grape varieties: Arbois and Chenin. Vinified as: still white, sparkling or semi-sparkling white, obtained by a second fermentation in the bottle. It can be kept: for a very long time, depending on the vintage and the year, up to 20 years, and sparkling wines, as soon as they are released. Ideal serving temperature: between 8 and 10°C. Pair with: still white wine with grilled lobster, pike in white butter sauce, Maître d'hôtel smelt, chicken with crayfish, grilled lobster, roast veal with cream or grilled duck with turnips, lemon and rosemary; sparkling wines with orange cake or Périgord chestnut mousse. The Touraine vineyards produce dry, semi-dry or sweet white wines, depending on the year. When the harvest has lacked warmth, it is transformed into a sparkling wine that is richer and more full-bodied than Saumur, but less rounded than Montlouis. At their best, sweet whites are the richest of the Loire whites of this style. The wines are then very full-bodied, full on the palate and display the honey aromas of Chenin Blanc. The sweet wines can age for 50 years.