The Touraine region comprises the eastern half of the central Loire Valley of France and has its own AOC (see below). Touraine broadly occupies the departments of Indre-et-Loir and Loire et Cher, and is centred on the town of Tours (Clive Coates MW: 1990, p.212). It was François Rabelais (1494–1553), the French humanist and satirist, who called Touraine ‘Le Jardin de la France’, the garden of France’. Touraine is traversed by three rivers, the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne, all of which join the Loire from the south (Hugh Johnson: Wine Companion: 2003, p.169).
Overview: Touraine has 19 appellations and 8 denominations. 1, 400 winegrowers, 12 cooperative cellars and 150 wine merchants produce the equivalent of 58 million bottles each year.
Terroir: The vineyards of Touraine are at the crossroads of oceanic and continental influences: 12,600 ha of soil and basements composed of tuffeau chalk and sands and flinty clay from the Paris Basin. The terraces on the banks of the Loire and Vienne consist of sands and gravels rolled by rivers and deposited over time.
Grape varieties: The majority grape varieties are Chenin and Sauvignon (for whites), Côt, Gamay and Cabernet Franc (for reds).
Vineyard area: 12,600 ha (Source).
Terroir: ‘Tuffeau chalk and sands and flinty clay from the Paris Basin. The terraces on the banks of the Loire and Vienne consist of sands and gravels rolled by rivers and deposited over time’ (Source).
Climate: ‘Touraine lies at the crossroads of oceanic and continental influences’ (Source).
Main grape varieties: Cabernet Franc (r). | Chenin Blanc (w). | Côt (r). | Gamay (r). | Sauvignon Blanc (w).
Sub-regions: Chinon AOC. | Bourgueil AOC. | Montlouis AOC. | Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil AOC. | Touraine AOC. | Touraine-Amboise AOC. | Touraine Mesland AOC. | Touraine Noble Joué AOC. | Touraine-Azay le Rideau AOC. | Vouvray AOC.
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