Perhaps you have read the original Fifty Shades trilogy, first published over a decade ago, selling more than 150 million copies in 52 languages. Sancerre is among the favorite wines of Christian Grey-the notorious main character of the steamy, erotic, sorta-BDSM romance novel, Fifty Shades of Grey- which he enjoys with his lover, Anastasia Steele. November experiences the highest rainfall with April reported as the driest.Arriving in Chavignol, renowned for goat cheese and Sancerre wine. Snowfall is common throughout the winter months. Summers are hot and short whilst winters are cold and long springtime frosts are frequently a problem in Sancerre. Here, a cool continental climate type predominates the region with the Atlantic Coast located 480 kilometers (300 miles) to the east. It is the reason behind Sauvignon's traditional pseudonym Blanc Fumé – which survives in the name of Sancerre's neighbor and rival, Pouilly-Fumé. The aroma is clear in some Sancerre wines – most obviously those from the eastern vineyards closer to the Loire. The latter is often given credit for the distinctive, smoky pierre à fusil (gunflint) aroma found in some Sauvignon from this part of the Loire Valley. They are divided clearly into three main types: chalk, limestone-gravel and silex (flint). Relatedly, soil types are a point of pride for Sancerre's winegrowers. Just 50 miles away lies Burgundy's northernmost district, Chablis, whose famous Kimmeridgian soils are also a feature of the terroir here in Sancerre, particularly around the village of Chavignol. It is in fact closer to the Côte d'Or in Burgundy than to the Loire's other key wine districts, Anjou and Touraine. Vineyards are found mostly planted on the hills with a favorable south facing slope to increase sun exposure at altitudes between 200 to 400 meters (655 to 1310 feet) above sea level. Sancerre is located at the very eastern edge of Loire Valley's main vineyard area, hundreds of miles from the region's westernmost vineyards. A majority of this is white, although 22,000hl of red and 12,000hl of rosé – both from Pinot Noir – are also reported annually. Sancerre is typically less "obvious" than the most famous New World styles of Sauvignon Blanc less grassy than those from Marlborough and less overtly citrussy than those from Casablanca.Įach vintage, approximately 170,000hl of wine is produced in Sancerre. Richer, riper examples – particularly those from warmer, west-facing sites with chalky soils – often show fruitier notes of passionfruit and lemon peel. The classic Sancerre wine is white, bracingly acidic, and has pungent aromas of gooseberries, grass, nettles, and a hint of stony minerality. Its strong historical reputation - coupled with the appeal of its wine style to modern wine consumers - has allowed Sancerre to retain its status as the Loire Valley's "king of the hill". The Loire Valley wine industry has endured significant economic hardship in the past decade (due to a combination of poor vintages and the increasingly competitive international wine market), but Sancerre has felt this pressure less keenly than other districts. Roughly 6970 acres (2820ha) of vines are now devoted to producing the appellation's wines, almost double the acreage when the Sancerre appellation was created in November 1936. The Sancerre viticultural area covers a 15-mile stretch of rolling hills on the west bank of the Loire. Today, small quantities of Chasselas are still grown in the area, mostly on the opposite side of the Loire, around Pouilly-sur-Loire and red Sancerre Rouge – made exclusively from Pinot Noir – accounts for less than 20 percent of the district's annual production. Thus, Sauvignon came to be Sancerre's most widely planted variety – a development without which the district and its wines would probably not be as famous as they currently are. When the solution to the phylloxera epidemic was identified (grafting European vines onto American rootstocks) Sauvignon Blanc vines proved more responsive than these other varieties. White wines were in the minority and were made not from Sauvignon but from Chasselas. Until phylloxera wiped out vast tracts of vineyard in the 1860s, the vineyards here were planted mostly with Gamay and Pinot Noir. Prior to this, the district was better known for its light-bodied reds. It is only since the mid-20th Century, and the creation of a protected Sancerre appellation, that "Sancerre" has been so strongly associated with white wines. The vineyards here surround the eponymous town, which sits atop a bean-shaped hill overlooking the river Loire (see Loire Valley).
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