Grapevine
This week’s column in the multipart series on my recent trip to the French wine regions of Champagne, Loire and Burgundy focuses on the LoireValley chateaus and wineries.
In planning this trip with our friends, the Russells, it became clear that individual likes and dislikes needed to be considered.
The “guys” preference would be to wander from winery to winery, partaking of the hospitality, and fabled wines, of local winemakers; castles and local culture are YouTube adventures.
The “gals” preference would be to immerse themselves in the sites and stories behind centuries-old royal castles, replete with scandal, mistresses’ chateaus down the road, politics, war, more scandal and more mistress stories. Spending countless hours in dark, dank wine cellars was for trolls, not cultured New Yorkers.
Thus the recipe for our Loire-trip menu boiled down to two parts culture and one part wine, with a generous dash of local cuisine; a proportion we could all live with.
The first day: The guys prevailed. A visit to Chateau Guadrelle transported us to a world of sparkling and still wines rarely found elsewhere in France. The proprietor, Alexandre Monmousseau, is the fifth generation in his family to ply their trade. We visited his new facility and caves on the perimeter of the Vouvray region, just east of Tours. He is among the new wave of French winemakers who have taken advantage of 21st century techniques and technology and are slowly introducing them into their centuries-old style of winemaking.
His wines are produced from the official grape of Vouvray–Chenin Blanc. One of the wines he offered was a first for me, a style of wine I had heard of but had not yet tasted. This wine that excited my palate was his sparkling wine, produced using a unique process called Pétillant (less intense than the traditional Champagne method). The result is a soft, creamy, well-balanced wine that is more food-friendly than Champagne-style sparkling wines–and a relative bargain at $20 to $25. Our wives were captivated by these wines, lingering at the tasting room counter as Monsieur Monmousseau poured sample after sample of his fine offerings. He must have been equally captivated by our wives interest; he offered to escort us to his newest vineyard, high on a hilltop above the village. What a treat: vistas across the hills and valleys along the LoireRiver, enhanced by the opportunity to walk amongst the grapevines, run the soil between my fingers and taste the near-ripe grapes from the vines.
We descended the hilltop in a euphoric state – in a natural high far greater than the slight buzz from the sparkling wines we had enjoyed.
Our next stop: The gals prevailed. We travelled along the banks of the LoireRiver to Château d’Amboise, a summer retreat of Kings Charles VII and Francis I. Perched high above the river, this ninth century battlement, renovated in the 15th century, was the scene of much political intrigue and played a pivotal role in the rise of the French empire. Walking through the grounds and the splendid gardens, we were immersed in the aura of medieval customs and architecture. We stopped for a culinary respite in the village below that surrounds the Chateau, which was once occupied by the artisans and courts of the Kings-in-residence. Amboise was home to Leonardo da Vinci late in his life; he is buried in the chapel of the Chateau. Francois I constructed a secret 400-meter passageway from the Chateau to da Vinci’s home–and conducted secret meetings to learn at the foot of the Renaissance master. Satiated by the splendor of the Chateau, we all agreed that this visit was well worth foregoing a visit to (one) of the local artisanal wineries on our itinerary.
Next: more wine, more Chateaux, more culture, more kilometers on the odometer.
Nick Antonaccio is a 35-year Pleasantville resident. For over 15 years he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. He also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
