Orléans

aoc created in 2006 for wines produced around the city of Orléans where the River Loire turns west. Burgundian influence is evident in the choice of grape varieties, principally Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. At one time this was an important wine region but the development of the railways changed all that and today fewer than 100 ha/250 acres of vineyards remain. They are too close to Paris to be of much practical interest to wine drinkers outside France, for the light, pale, fragrant wines have many devotees in the French capital. Orléans-Cléry is an even smaller AOC (just 32 ha in 2012) zone south west of the city on the left bank of the Loire for Cabernet-based reds.