The great wines of Anjou

According to the legend, it was St. Martin, the Bishop of Tours, who brought back the first “Chenin” plant from Germany in the 4th century. This vine was to bring nobleness to the great white wines of the Loire. 

The well-rounded white wines brought fame to the Anjou region, from the time when the Dutch traders followed the Loire from the Layon, before conveying them all over the world. These wines are the “Coteaux du Layon” with its quince and honey flavour, and the two great wines, the “Quarts de Chaume” and the “Bonnezeaux”, the vineyards of which rise above Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné and Thouarcé.

You can’t miss the brightness of the golds and greens on the vineyard road. The “Layon” can be drunk as an aperitif or with a foie gras from Anjou.

Another great Anjou wine is the “Savennières”, which is a dry white wine, and which is well know for its two “appellations” (certifications): “la Roche aux Moines” and the “Coulée de Serrant”. These great wines should ideally be appreciated with a seafood
platter or a fish from the Loire “Pimpant”, the rosé should be drunk chilled and young with a fry-up of eels or a plate of “rillauds”, which is the flavoursome belly of pork conserved in lard. 

Traditionally a white wine region, the current wine production is now more oriented towards red wines. “Fleuron du Saumurois” and “Saumur-Champigny” are wines that leave you “with your head free after drinking”. Their flavour of wild fruits will enchant your palate. On the other hand, the Anjou red wine “Anjou-villages” gives off a scent of raspberry and its colour is a gleaming ruby red.

The coolness of the cellars dug into the “tuffeau” (sandy chalk stone) and the know-how of the wine producers combine to give birth to the “Crémant de Loire”. This is a Saumur brut sparkling wine which can be drunk at the start of a party or which will colourfully end your meal with lots of exuberance.

Other pleasure of the table

The great wealth of Anjou is its fruit and vegetables, and this can be seen on its colourful market stalls. There are quantities of asparagus, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, melons, apples and plums, all matured in the sun and the warm winds. You must taste the traditional “Pâté aux prunes” plum pastry, which is a pie filled with greengages, and the “Doyenne du Comice”, a delicious pear hybrid created in Anjou.

Button mushrooms are farmed in the “tuffeau” (sandy chalk stone) cellars of Saumurois, and have made Anjou one of the top producers in Europe. The Mushroom Museum of Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent, a place to be visited and a place of culture, is just a few metres (yds.) beneath ground level. It gives an unusual (and flavoursome) insight into this local speciality.