Touraine, the most important Loire region centred on the town of Tours (see map under loire). This is ‘the garden of France’, and Loire château country par excellence, a series of playgrounds for France’s pre-revolutionary aristocrats, and now the Parisian weekender’s rural paradise. The local tuffeau was quarried extensively to build these and more distant châteaux, leaving caves ideal for winemaking and wine maturation.
Touraine’s most famous wines are the still red wines from the individual appellations of bourgueil, chinon, and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and its still and sparkling, dry to sweet whites from vouvray and montlouis.
Become a Premium Member to access this page
Unlimited, ad-free access to hundreds of the world’s best cookbooks
Over 150,000 recipes with thousands more added every month
Recommended by leading chefs and food writers
Powerful search filters to match your tastes
Create collections and add reviews or private notes to any recipe
