Savory Home Cooking

The Loire Valley wine region is located south west of Paris typically a little over 2 hours drive from the Paris peripherique and extending out as far as Nantes.

The Loire Valley is most famous for producing fine white wine such as Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadet with accounts for 75% percent of the wine produced in the region. As well as these lovely white wines, you can enjoy the delightful, fruity and pleasant reds produced in the Loire Valley, such as Cabernet Franc and Gamay.

For lovers of fine wine and all finer things in life, one would be hard-pressed to find a better setting than the exquisite famous fertile valley of the Loire River; a region seeped in rich history from regal chateaux to its long viticulture tradition.

A fairytale wine-tasting adventure awaits the wine lover touring the Loire Valley as wine-tasting can be enjoyed along with visits to many spectacular historic castles sprinkled throughout the region. Chateau Chambord which is the largest Loire Valley chateau and the architecturally breathtaking Chateau Chenonceau spanning the River Cher are just two of many jaw-droppers for tourists to enjoy.

The Loire Valley is also a popular destination for followers of the Knights Templar and Holy Grail because it is so seeped in history and because of the close association with Leonardo Da Vinci.

Fans of Leonard Da Vinci can visit Chateau Clos Luce and admire his study, salons, kitchen and bedrooms, the chapel and see frescoes painted by his pupils. [His drawings and paintings are set out in the park of the chateau with giant models of the most spectacular machines he invented with voice-overs of Leonardo da Vinci and his disciple Melzi.

Chateau Chaumont sits high above the banks of the Loire River opposite the Touraine-Amboise vineyards and it holds an international garden festival each year from April to October being France’s equivalent of the Chelsea Garden Fair.

Self-guided wine tours can be combined with hiking, bicycling, or hot air ballooningthrough the scenic countryside. All wine lovers should make their next wine tasting holiday destination the Loire Valley because the excitement of their senses will stretch far beyond their palate.

For castle enthusiasts staying at a castle can heighten the enjoyment of your vacation. You can even have a french chateau wedding. For wow factor nothing beats a destination chateau wedding in France. A destination chateau wedding package makes it more affordable than you may imagine. Remember to bring lots of film or memory for your camera, as there really is not a prettier wine region in the world.

France’s Loire Valley offers goat cheese lovers a veritable paradise. This region is is sprinkled with amazing Renaissance chateaux open to the public and an abundance of fine wine and cheeses. It is justly called the Garden of France.

Chateau du Guerinet near Blois is a perfect base for a cheese lover’s Loire Valley holiday and for a fairytale french destination wedding. They also have a new credit crunch buster wedding package offering incredible value.

The history of goat’s milk cheese in France started in the Loire Valley In the 8th Century, the Saracens of Arab descent were repelled at Poitiers. When they were expelled from France they left behind their goats and the recipes for making incredible cheese from goats milk.

The quaint villages on either side of the Loire River produce goat’s cheeses of different sizes and shapes. There are six AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlee) cheeses: Crottin de Chavignol, Sainte-Maure de Touraine, Selles-sur-Cher, Valencay, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre,and Chabichou du Poitou. An AOC cheese is made within a specified region following established methods of production. Quality is guaranteed with an AOC cheese.

Pouligny-Saint-Pierre nicknamed the Eiffel Tower or Pyramid because if its shape. The rind is of natural mould. The pate is a soft moist white and crumbly. The taste is at first sour and salty followed by sweetness. This cheese goes wonderfully with a glass of Reuilly or Sancerre.

Chabichou du Poitou has a thin rind of white, yellow or blue mould and a delicate slightly sweet flavour. Pouilly Fume and Sancerre wines go nicely with this cheese.

Crottin de Chavignol known as Chavignol is hard black and knobbly on the surface, and the taste is a balance of sourness, sweetness and a little salt to be enjoyed with a glass of Sancerre de Chavignol.

Valencay cheese looks like a small black pyramid. It is purported that the shape of the cheese was originally a perfect pyramid. But when Napoleon returned from a disastrous campaign in Egypt he stopped at Valencay Castle, the cheese reminded him of the Egyptian pyramids and in a furry he chopped of the top of the cheese with his sword. The Valencay goat’s cheese has a rind of natural mould, covered with salted powdered charcoal and goes nicely with a glass of Quincy, Reuilly or Sancerre.

Sainte-Maure de Touraine is a blue-grey mould covered long truncated log of goat’s cheese. The cheese is mature, balanced, round with salt, sourness and an aroma of walnut. This cheese is produced all year long and is nicely complimented by a glass of Chinon or Vouvray.

Selles-sur-Cher also has a rind of natural mould covered with powdered and salted charcoal. The pate is hard at first, then moist, heavy and clay-like as it blends and melts in the mouth. The taste is slightly sour and salty with a touch of sweetness. A glass of Sancerre or Pouilly Fume accompanies this cheese beautifully.

What better way to enjoy these cheeses than driving through the Loire Valley visiting historic chateaux, maybe a hot-air balloon ride in the morning, gourmet lunch in village bistros, meeting cheese and wine producers sampling their products and returning at night to a friendly inviting boutique chateau hotel.

Don’t just visit a french chateau – stay in one. Guests get to truly experience the grandeur of living in a french chateau. If you love goat’s cheese you will not regret it.

For prospective brides you could entertain your french destination wedding guests with wine and cheese tastings on a trail meandering through the Loire Valley visiting historic chateaux. At your wedding breakfast you could serve goats cheese as part of your entree as well as on your cheese plate.