Val de Loire

Since August 2009, Vins de Pays have been granted an official quality designation recognized at the European level: the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).

The Vins de Pays category, alongside Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOCs) and Vins de France (formerly Vin de table), is strictly regulated, both by EU wine regulations and by precise specifications defining production conditions.

Like AOCs, they are subject to precise production rules. However, the flexibility to use different grape varieties also allows winemakers to express their full creativity and produce original wines.

On the other hand, compared to Vins de France, they offer consumers a guarantee of origin—reflected in the name of their appellation—and a guarantee of quality through compliance with the specifications and the resulting controls (checks on grape varieties, yields, and analytical and organoleptic tests).

Within the family of French Vins de Pays, the regional appellation “Vins de Pays du Val de Loire” encompasses 14 departments in the Loire Valley wine-growing region: Allier, Cher, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loire-Atlantique, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Nièvre, Puy-de-Dôme, Sarthe, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée, and Vienne.

Since their creation in 1981, Loire Valley Vins de Pays have refocused on quality production and the professionalization of their producers. With its 1,600 winegrowers, about fifteen cooperative wineries, and around one hundred wine merchants, the Val de Loire Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) carries significant economic weight within the wine-producing region of the Loire Valley.

Due to its northern location and temperate climate, the Val de Loire Protected Geographical Indication is characterized by the freshness, liveliness, and finesse of its wines.

The grape varieties used in Val de Loire IGP regional wines are traditional and well-suited to the diversity of climates and soils found in this vast region.

The white grape varieties, most of which are vinified as dry wines, are characterized by the delicacy of their fruity and floral aromas.

The rosés are light, lively, and refreshing, and the reds—which range from light-bodied to full-bodied—are characterized by their suppleness.