Anjou wine

Extending across the Deux-Sèvres, Maine-et-Loire and Vienne départements, the generic Anjou AOC appellation and its various sub-appellations encompasses vineyards across more than 151 communes.

[5] Wine made from the Chenin blanc grape can be dated to the 9th century in vineyards belonging to the Glanfeuil Abbey located just south of Angers in what is now Le Thoureil.

Anjou wines experienced some brief popularity with the English market being in demand due to their reputation for tasting "ripe and sweet".

[6] The high point of the Angevin wine industry was the early 19th century when the market demands of Paris overtook those of the Dutch and plantings flourished throughout the area.

[5] Located along the river Loire near the town of Angers, the region of Anjou has a mild continental climate with some maritime influences due to its close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

[7] This influence is tempered by the forests of the Vendée department to the southwest which absorbs the brunt of the rainfall and winds coming in off the Atlantic.

The tributaries of the Loire, particularly the Layon and Aubance, play significant roles in the area's wine production with vineyard planted on their right banks and sheltered from wind by nearby hill sides.

The Aubance and Layon flow parallel to each other going northwest towards the Loire and when the climate is favorable can help promote the development of noble rot that is at the heart of the region's sweet wine production.

[5] Along the river Layon is the commune of Rochefort-sur-Loire which contains the village of Chaume with a long making tradition that finally received AOC designation in the early 21st century.

In 2003 the INAO granted the request for the sweet wines from this region to be called Chaume 1er Cru des Coteaux du Layon AOC.

Made entirely from Chenin blanc, these wines are most often the product of passerillage or "raisining" on the vine than of infection by noble rot.

[9] In exceptional years where there is enough warmth and dry weather during the harvest months, the grapes will be left on the vine to raisin in a process known as passerille.

[1] As red wine production continues to find a market, and plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon increase, more producers are experimented with the use of new oak barrels.

Map of Anjou wine region.
Angevin winemakers in the Middle Ages were one of the few Medieval producers to blend both the vin de goutte (free run juice) with the vin de presse (pressed wine) which added tannins and color to the wine.
The tributaries of the Loire, such as the river Layon (pictured) , play an important role in viticulture of the Anjou wine region.
Chenin blanc is the primary grape of the dry and sweet wines of the Anjou wine region.
Rosé d'Anjou and Cabernet d'Anjou
Savennières wine from producer Nicolas Joly. The bottle on the left is from the sub-appellation AOC of Savennières Coulée-de-Serrant.
Many of the sweet wines of the Anjou are botrytized, meaning that the noble rot of Botrytis cinerea has infected the grapes causing the grapes to shrivel and concentrate the sugars inside.
An example of passerillage where the grapes are raisined on the vine rather than infected by Botrytis cinera . Similar to botrytized wines, the raisining has the effect of reducing water in the grape and causing the sugars to be more concentrated.
Cabernet Franc is an important red wine grape variety in the Anjou.