Press and Wine Links

Harvest in the Loire: 2010 Courtesy of the Loire Valley Wine Bureau    Harvest began the week of September 8 in the Loire, and across the valley, 2010 is looking very promising. In Muscadet, the grapes have achieved excellent maturity levels, making this vintage one of the best in the past 25 years. The maturity of the grapes is even better than in 1997 and 2009, two well regarded vintages.    In Anjou and Saumur, where the harvest began a week later, vineyards enjoyed warm summer days with cool nights, allowing complex aromas to develop slowly during the ripening of white grapes. These wines promise to show great balance and freshness.    In Touraine, ripening has occurred slowly due to the cold spells experienced in May, and their harvest began around the 25 of September, but the vines showed beautiful, even ripening.    In the Centre region the appelations of Menetou-Salon, Pouilly-Fumé, Quincy, Reuilly and Sancerre saw a dry summer. The maturation was slow and the first to start the harvest were the Reuilly wine growers in mid-September, with the rest beginning theirs in early October. It appears the wines will be rich, aromatic and well balanced.