Loire Valley (wine) (where Pouilly-Fumé is made) sit on opposite sides of the Loire river with Sancerre being about to the northwest of Pouilly. The "Fumé" is said to come from the "silex" flint interspersed with the limestone in the area that can give a smoky gunflint note to the wine. Another possibility for the name is the early morning fog created by the Loire river that can blanket the vineyards. Wines labeled with just Pouilly or Pouilly-sur-Loire are often made from the Chasselas grape. Unlike many areas of France, the Sancerre region is heavily mechanized with the use of mechanical harvesting rather
Châteaux of the Loire Valley Châteaux of the Loire Valley The Châteaux of the Loire Valley (French: "Châteaux de la Loire") are part of the architectural heritage of the historic towns of Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Montsoreau, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours along the Loire River in France. They illustrate Renaissance ideals of design in France. The châteaux, numbering more than three hundred, are the achievement of a nation of builders, starting with practical fortified castles in the 10th century to splendid residences built half a millennium later. When the French kings began constructing their huge châteaux in the Loire Valley, the nobility, drawn to