Vouvray (wine) Loire Valley. The cold, steady temperature of these cellars served ideal for the advancement of sparkling wines made according to the traditional "méthode champenoise" that became popular in the 18th and 19th century. In 1936 Vouvray was created as an "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC). The boundaries of the AOC were defined around the village of Vouvray and seven nearby villages. Included among these villages were Chançay, Nouzilly, Vernou-sur-Brenne and Rochecorbon. Located along the right bank of the Loire river east of the city of Tours, the Vouvray region is situated on top a plateau that is dissected by small streams
Châteaux of the Loire Valley the banks of the Loire. In the late 15th century, Tours, then Blois, and later Amboise became the preferred locations of the French royal court. Many courtiers bought dilapidated castles built by the medieval Counts of Blois and Anjou, and had them reconstructed in the latest Italianate fashion. Leonardo da Vinci and other Italian artists arrived to design and beautify these residences. By the middle of the 16th century, King François I had shifted his throne from the Loire back to the ancient capital of Paris. With him went the great architects, but the Loire Valley continued to be the