Vines, wines, valley

A defining feature of the Loire Valley landscapes, vineyards epitomise the link between know-how and land. They tell us about history, geography, the ups and downs of trade and tastes. They have adapted and must now anticipate climate change.

Inseparable from the landscapes of the middle Loire region, vineyards are associated with the limestone hillsides lining the stretch of the river inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are 36 wine appellations cultivated between the regions of Anjou and Touraine, offering up a wide range of wines made from more than 20 grape varieties (mainly chenin and sauvignon for white and cabernet franc and gamay for red).

Through the grapevine

Since the 20^th century, vineyards have been planted more on the plateaus than in the valley. Their location, just like the distribution of wines, gives us precious clues to the current geopolitical context. To understand the cultural history of the Loire Valley’s wine-making landscapes, it’s worth identifying the subsistence of the land pattern, the presence of cellars, vineyard cabins or old “closeries” - small plots of vines. For these are all signs of a region shaped over centuries by wine-producing activities linked to the Loire Valley’s geology and the presence of the river.

It’s also important to distinguish between traditional local viticulture from mediaeval times, associated with polyculture farming, and vineyards tended for trade and export. This has adapted in line with tastes: first the English, then the Dutch, helped give us an appreciation for white wine, especially from Anjou, when France’s royalty were drinking reds from Orléans. Wine has followed the laws of the market, complying with the regulations or benefiting from the development of river trade.

A providential alliance

At the end of the 19^th century, the phylloxera crisis dramatically changed the lie of the land in a matter of decades: grape varieties, types of plantings, appearance of wire... The wine-growing landscapes remain amazingly robust. The fruit of local know-how, they say a lot about human communities’ adaptability and inform us about the swiftness of the changes happening. The return of “forgotten” local grape varieties, development of organic viticulture and deployment of local markets with their own distribution network... Vines and growers are progressing together to maintain and nurture vineyards that respect all forms of life, as if in a providential alliance of know-how, place and climate.