Loire Valley (wine) has a long history of winemaking dating back to the 1st century. In the High Middle Ages, the wines of the Loire Valley were the most esteemed wines in England and France, even more prized than those from Bordeaux. Archaeological evidence suggest that the Romans planted the first vineyards in the Loire Valley during their settlement of Gaul in the 1st century AD. By the 5th century, the flourishing viticulture of the area was noted in a publication by the poet Sidonius Apollinaris. In his work the "History of the Franks", Bishop Gregory of Tours wrote of the frequent plundering
French frigate Loire (1796) killed and five wounded, the latter hauled down her colours. She proved to be French privateer "Blonde", of Bordeaux, mounting 30 guns, eight-pounders on the main deck, with a crew of 240 men under François Aregnaudeau; the same ship that, about five months earlier, had captured the . "Loire" took the prize in tow to Plymouth where the prisoners were disembarked on 31 August. On 2 June 1805 boats from "Loire" captured the Spanish privateer felucca "Esperanza" alias "San Pedro" in the Bay of Camarinas, east of Cape Finisterre. She was armed with three eighteen-pounders, four four-pounder brass swivels and