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The vineyards of Touraine are vineyards situated in the Loire Valley that produce dry, white wines and red wines rich in tannins. Awarded Appellation d'origine contrôlée (quality-controlled designation of origin) status under the decree of 24th December, 1939 (modified by the decree of 29th August 2002), this wine-growing area extends across 5,300 hectares in the departments of Indre-et-Loire, Indre and Loir-et-Cher and comprises a total of 70 communes.

Grape varieties
The white wines are made from Chenin grapes (known locally as Pineau Blanc de la Loire), and from Sauvignon and Arbois grapes. The wines made from Sauvignon grapes are dry and lively with characteristic blackcurrant aromas. The white Touraine wines are dry, fairly firm, lively and full, and keep well when bottled. The sparkling wines are allowed to use the designation "Touraine mousseux" (sparkling Touraine wine). Up to 20% of Chardonnay grapes may be included in the mixture of varieties grown. A "Touraine mousseux" (sparkling Touraine wine) is a wine that is solid, yet fresh.

The red wines are produced from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet_Sauvignon], [[Côt, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Pineau d'Aunis and Gamay grape varieties (Gamay is used only for wines marketed in the first year after production). These wines are flavoursome and tannic in character. Touraine wines sold in the first year or production are light and fruity, characteristically vibrant and rustic.

The rosé wines are made from Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon, Côt, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Pineau d'Aunis, Gamay and Grolleau grape varieties. These wines are dry, yet fresh in character.

Appellations
The best known Touraine AOC (quality-controlled designation of origin) wine appelations are:


 * Touraine: this is the appellation known simply as "Touraine". Its land borders the Loire river, stretching from the Sologne region to the borders of Vienne and Anjou.  A range of grape varieties are used for red, rosé and white wines.  They are mainly Cabernet Franc, Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc and Côt (or "Malbec") for the red and for some rosé wines, Pineau d'Aunis and Grolleau (or "Groslot") for the rosé wines, Chenin Blanc (or "Pineau Blanc de Loire") and Sauvignon for the white wines.  The wine officially designated "Touraine primeur " (Touraine wine marketed in the first year after production) is made exclusively from the Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc grape variety.


 * Touraine Amboise : this appellation covers ten communes located on the outskirts of Amboise. The red and rosé wines are produced from the grape varieties, Cabernet Franc (known locally as "Breton"), Cabernet-Sauvignon, Côt and Gamay Noir, while the white wines (dry, medium-dry and medium-sweet) are made from Chenin Blanc (known locally as Pineau de la Loire).
 * Touraine Mesland: the small village of Mesland, which lies between Amboise and Blois, gives its name to red, rosé and white wines of considerable finesse produced from Gamay grapes, and to white wines produced from Chenin grapes.


 * Touraine Azay-le-Rideau: located in the wine-growing area surrounding the famous château, this village gives its name to excellent white wines produced from Chenin grapes and to rosé wines produced from Chenin, Gamay and Grolleau grapes.


 * Bourgueil: lying to the north of the Loire river, between Chinon and Saumur, the Bourgueil region is one of the largest wine-growing areas of Touraine. This is the Cabernet Franc country, the region straddles the Touraine and Anjou regions.  Depending on the nature of the soil, two different kinds of wine grow alongside each other within the Bourgueil appellation area. Wines from fine gravel soils, must be drunk when very young, while wines from calcareous tufa soils develop their flavours and aromas a year later. Bourgueil wines are wines that can be kept for a very long time.


 * Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: very close to the Bourgueil wine-growing area in terms of distance, but a world away in terms of its wines, is the village of Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. The wines produced here are of exceptional quality and their reputation extends far beyond France. These wines, which have very strong red fruit flavours, can be drunk in their first year, but improve with every passing year and can be kept very successfully for more than ten years.
 * Chinon: these wines are often better known than the Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil wines (perhaps because the village itself is so well known), and are less fruity. The wines of Chinon are indissolubly linked to the literary output of Rabelais (a famous French Renaissance writer), the most famous person to have sung their praises.


 * Vouvray: another great name with an international reputation, dating from the time of Saint Martin (Saint Martin de Tours is thought to have initiated wine-growing in this area) himself. Balzac (a famous 19th century French novelist) pays tribute to this wine in his writing. Lying to the east of Tours and situated on the right bank of the Loire, the Vouvray region produces white wines only. Some Vouvray wines are semi-sparkling or sparkling.  In a cellar with good storage conditions, Vouvray wines can be kept for 40 years.  In Touraine, in fact, it is not uncommon for Vouvray to replace champagne at meals marking special occasions.


 * Montlouis-sur-Loire: located only a few kilometres to the east of Tours, Montlouis-sur-Loire shares its name with white wines that are less well known outside of the Touraine region and are all made from Chenin grapes. The Montlouis-sur-Loire (or "Montlouis") wine-growing area was originally part of the Vouvray region, but lay on the left bank of the Loire on somewhat different soil.  It was in 1938 that Montlouis-sur-Loire became an AOC (quality-controlled designation of origin) wine with an appellation that was independent from that of Vouvray.  In parallel with the Vouvray wines, some Montlouis wines are semi-sparkling or sparkling.