Loire Valley (wine) time in Angers (Anjou): With over planted under vine, the Loire Valley is about two-thirds the size of the Bordeaux wine region. Due to its location and marginal climate, the overall quality of a vintage has a dramatic effect on the quality of the region's wines—more so than with other French wine regions. The most common hazard is that the cool climate will prevent the grapes from ripening fully and developing the sugars needed to balance the naturally high acidity of the grapes. During these cool vintages the Sauvignon blanc based wines are lighter in color, less fruity and have
Loire historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Nantes, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours, but in particular for its castles, such as the Château d'Amboise, Château d'Angers, Château de Chambord, Château de Montsoreau, Château d'Ussé, Château de Villandry and Chenonceau, and also for its many cultural monuments, which illustrate the ideals of the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment on western European thought and design. On December 2, 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire valley, between Bouchemaine in Anjou and Sully-sur-Loire in Loiret, to its list of World Heritage Sites. In choosing this area that includes the