Vouvray (wine) blanc grape, known locally as "Pineau de la Loire", is believed to have originated in the Anjou wine region sometime in the 9th century and from there eventually migrated to Vouvray. In the 16th and 17th century, Dutch merchants oversaw the plantings of many vineyards in the area to be used for wine trade with markets in London, Paris and Rotterdam. Grapes from all over Touraine were brought together in a mass blending labeled simply as "Vouvray". Wine cellars were built in the region from caves created from the excavation of tuffeau rocks used to build the Châteaux of the
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