Vouvray (wine) the sweet dessert wines of Sauternes. With the naturally high acidity of Chenin blanc, Vouvrays from favorable vintages have immense aging potential. A few wines drink well into 100 years of age, but it is more common to find a well aged Vouvray peaking at the 40 year mark. Across the Loire River from Vouvray is the Montlouis AOC which produces Chenin blanc based wines like Vouvray that tend to have less acidity and concentration of flavor. Viticulture has existed in Vouvray since at least the Middle Ages when the Catholic Church maintained vineyards at the local monasteries. The Chenin
Loire lower Loire found its source upstream of Orléans in the region of Gien, flowing westward along the present course. At a certain point during the long history of uplift in the Paris Basin, the lower, Atlantic Loire captured the "palaeo-Loire" or "Loire séquanaise" ("Seine Loire"), producing the present river. The former bed of the "Loire séquanaise" is occupied by the Loing. The Loire Valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period from 40–90 ka. Neanderthal man used stone tools to fashion boats out of tree trunks and navigated the river. Modern man inhabited the Loire valley around 30 ka.