Checking out the Wine at Montlouis sur Loire (and a humble little chateau called Chenonceau)

The Loire Valley is wine country, and though we were sedated in an afternoon stupor (serious food coma after lunch), we decided to stop at the famous wine caves at Montlouis, just minutes from Tours. For years, the wine caves (French word for cellars) have existed as caves, quite literally, carved from the tall, white cliffs on the banks of the Loire river. My photo doesn't do the place justice. Check out the website here.

Montlouis has been an AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) since 1938. We stopped at the Espace des Producteurs to taste the wines. Here 25 different wine-growers have created a co-op cellar. The place is fantastic. Visitors are allowed to wander freely through the maze-like tunnels, where two million bottles of wine mature in the cold, damp dark. We followed a path deep into the cliffs, descending steps down into the earth, where bottles were piled against the chalky rock walls. Along this self-guided tour, the winery folks have tacked signs explaining the wine-making process.

The effervescent wines, like Champagne, are exciting and bubbly-- but sweeter. Perfect for an aperitif or even dessert. And the Chenins are likewise tasty, what the winery calls the vins tranquilles (aka No bubbles!)

Oh, yeah. And then we stopped by Chenonceau in the late afternoon, two hours before closing time, when we figured the tourist hoards would have disappeared. (It was the weekend of Ascension, after all, and the French families love to hit the road and go exploring.) The chateau is the quintessential turreted French castle, positioned smack dab in the middle of a river, spanning the currents, so you can literally cross the river by walking the length of the interior halls. During the First World War, these halls served as a hospital for injured soldiers.


We pushed through the crowds, admiring the rich period furnishings. Simply put, Chenonceau is magnificent. From the chateau windows, we could look down and see fish swimming in the river below. Aerial armies of swallows swooped down from the roof, where little mud nests were built beneath the castle's turrets.

Outside, the park spans 70 hectares and is magical. We strolled thorough the gardens and admired the landscaping-- quite painstaking. We ended up spending a lot of time in the vegetable garden and nursery, fascinated by the gardening techniques employed in seeding and cultivating the baby plants. Apparently, the floral decorations in the spring and summer require 130,000 new plants to be nurtured.

PS. Pierre and I were amazed at how many of the Loire Valley chateaux are privately owned, Chenonceau included.