Still or sparkling, versatile Vouvray shows its style (#Winophiles)

From still to sparkling, from dry to sweet, Vouvray’s got it all!

So many options to this versatile and classy, always 100% Chenin Blanc white wine from the Central Loire Valley of France. Where to start?

This was my dilemma (I know, first world, yada yada) as I scanned the Vouvray available through the Pennsylvania state store system. I typed “Vouvray” into the search bar and got 52 matches. What should I do for the #Winophiles chat this Saturday, Dec. 21?

Though it’s holiday season – or maybe because it’s holiday season – we all need a break from shopping and traffic. Relaxing at home with a glass of Vouvray and a simple dinner seemed about right to me this week.

The wine specialist at my local state store recommended the 2017 Silex d’Orfeuilles Vouvray AOC, a highly regarded still wine they stock annually. Bone-dry and minerally, this Vouvray was a compatible pairing for baked trout. But I felt like I had only scratched the surface of Vouvray.

I wanted to taste at least one other style of Vouvray, for contrast, so I chose a sparkling 2015 Chateau Moncontour Cuvée Prédilection Vouvray AOC Brut and made in the méthode traditionnelle (traditional method used in Champagne).

The region and the grape

The Loire Valley, just a two-hour drive south of Paris (one hour by train), is a well-known tourist destination. Vouvray is located in Touraine, in the Central Loire (see map above).

Vineyards flank nearly the entire, 300-mile stretch of the Loire River as its flows from Sancerre to Nantes, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. In the Central Loire, days are sunny with humidity that wafts up the river valley from the sea.

Chenin Blanc is especially adaptable to this climate. The grape buds early and ripens late. In the best years, the thinned-skin Chenin Blanc develops botrytis or “noble rot,” a mold that shrivels the grape and concentrates its natural sugar. The result is a lusciously sweet, honeyed dessert wine. Every year, though, Chenin Blanc without botrytis is vinified into still, semi-sparkling (pétillant), or sparkling wine.

Cellars in this region often are cut into the cliffs of soft tuffeau, a chalky limestone full of ancient marine fossils. This porous soil is good for drainage and root systems, and the high calcium level allows grapes to retain their acidity as they ripen.

Two versions of Vouvray

2017 Silex d’Orfeuilles Vouvray AOC
The father/son team of Bernard and Arnaud Herivault farm their grapes organically. They produce sparkling wine in the traditional method and still wines that, depending on the year’s climate, can be dry, medium dry, sweet and sometimes liqueur-like in the case of certain vintages.

This wine is from old vines planted on a hillside with southern exposure, where large flint stones (silex) cover clay and limestone soil. The producers say this soil is specific to their vineyard and gives their wines their “flinty” character.

Grapes are pressed for two to three hours. After decanting, the juice is placed for two-thirds of the time in tanks and the rest of time in oak barrels with 25% new wood. The spontaneous fermentation is followed by aging and stirring of the lees (dead yeast cells) in barrels for 11 months. The wine is racked two or three times and then filtered. 

My tasting notes: Yellow in color. Aromas of ripe red apple and honeysuckle with a faint hint of wood. Flinty, flowery palate. Just a bit of softness to balance the bracing acidity. Medium+ finish. Alcohol: 13.5% At $19.99, this is a good value for the price.

2015 Château Moncontour Cuvée Prédilection Vouvray AOC Brut
Vintage matters in the Vouvray appellation. The 2015 wines are among those recommended by Wine Folly, one of my frequent go-to sources for wine information.

Overlooking the Loire, the majestic-looking Château Moncontour offers a vantage point for viewing the entire Loire valley. The Feray family has owned the castle since 1994. Their vineyards are some of the oldest in Touraine.

This wine is produced from Chenin Blanc grapes grown on the limestone surrounding Château Moncontour, on the north bank of the Loire. It matures 20 months in the bottle after the second fermentation and before disgorgement, in cool cellars carved out of the limestone cliff beneath the château.

My tasting notes: Yellow in color. A nose full of gorgeous apple aroma is followed by a slightly yeasty, fresh, and honeyed palate offset by medium+ acidity. Medium+ finish. Alcohol: 12.5%. Price: $19.99. A good wine for sipping at home or bringing to a holiday party.

The pairings

Both of these wines are balanced and well made. But I found, in pairing the wines, that the Château Moncontour Vouvray Brut was more food-friendly than the dry Silex d’Orfeuilles. A little residual sugar goes a long way!

I discovered this difference the first night of opening the Silex d’Orfeuilles, when I paired it with the trout and this winter farro salad. The dry Vouvray couldn’t handle the slight sweetness of the citrusy salad dressing. I get it – my mistake.

The Château Moncontour, on the other hand, loved the salad – and the spicy tuna sushi roll, and the grilled garlic shrimp with cocktail sauce, and the nutty Le Cayrol Tomme d’Chèvre (an artisanal goat’s milk cheese made in the Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions of France). The Silex d’Orfeuilles and the goat cheese paired pleasantly, too.

Please join the Winophiles on Twitter this Saturday, Dec. 21, starting at 11 am ET, to chat about the many faces of Vouvray. Simply follow the hashtag #Winophiles. If you’re looking for ideas about how to choose and enjoy Vouvray, I recommend the following posts:

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Pairing a School Assignment with a #Winophiles Project: Moqueca + Gautier Vouvray Argilex 2012”
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest shares “Why I Chose This Wine as A Holiday Favorite”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Creamy Clam Dip with a Sauvion Vouvray“
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish shares “Monmousseau Ammonite Vouvray: Gussying-Up an Ad Hoc Holiday Feast“
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “Carême Organic Vouvray and Lunch at Chateau de Pray“
• Nicole at Somm’s Table shares “Champalou Vouvray Brut and a Very Lazy Cheese Night”
• Jane at Always Ravenous shares “Vouvray with an Indian-Inspired Dinner”
• Linda at My Full Wineglass shares “Still or sparkling, Versatile Vouvray Shows its Style”
• David at Cooking Chat shares “Spicy Lentil Soup with Wine Pairing”
• Susannah at Avvinare shares “Vouvray’s Singular Moelleux Wines”
• Payal at Keep the Peas shares “A Birthday and a Vouvray”
• Liz at What’s in That Bottle? shares “Va-Va-Va-Vouvray! Get to Know These White Wines from the Loire”
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Vouvray Pairs with Cream”