Loire Valley (wine) "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC), "Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure" (VDQS) and "Vin de pays" systems. While the majority of production is white wine from the Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc and Melon de Bourgogne grapes, there are red wines made (especially around the Chinon region) from Cabernet franc. In addition to still wines, rosé, sparkling and dessert wines are also produced. With "Crémant" production throughout the Loire, it is the second largest sparkling wine producer in France after Champagne. Among these different wine styles, Loire wines tend to exhibit characteristic fruitiness with fresh, crisp flavors-especially in their youth. The Loire Valley
Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, "Centre-Loire Valley") is one of the 13 administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior of the country. The administrative capital is Orléans. Like many contemporary regions of France, the region of Centre was created from parts of three historical provinces: , , and . The name was chosen by the French government purely on the basis of geography, in reference to its location in north-central France (the central part of the original French language area), However, Centre is not situated in the geographical centre of France, and