Loire Valley (wine) The region around Vouvray, Montlouis-sur-Loire and Touraine has some of the most diverse plantings of all the Loire region and makes a wide variety of white, red and rosé wines. For white wines the main grape is Chenin blanc but Sauvignon blanc and (to a smaller extent) Chardonnay is also planted. For red wines the main grape is Cabernet franc with some smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Malbec. The rosé wines are made from an assortment of Gamay, Pineau d'aunis, Pinot gris and Pinot noir. The villages of Vouvray and Montlouis are the largest appellations in the region
French frigate Loire (1796) action. The Royal Navy brought "Venteux" into service as "Eagle", and next year renamed her HMS "Eclipse". On 17 March 1804 "Loire" sighted a strange vessel on the Irish station and made all sail in pursuit. She came up with and captured what proved to be the French privateer "Braave", of 14 guns and 110 men. On 16 August 1804 "Loire" gave chase to a suspicious-looking sail. After a chase of 20 hours, including a running fight of a quarter of an hour, during which the British had one midshipman and five men wounded, and the French lost two men