Eating & Drinking Well in the Loire

Eating & Drinking Well in the Loire

Finesse rather than fireworks marks the gastronomy of this gentle, lovely region, known for exceptional white wines, delicate fish, and France's most bountiful fruits and vegetables.

The serene and gentle Loire imposes its placid personality throughout this fertile valley region. The weather, too, is calm and cool, ideal for creating the Loire's diverse and memorable wines, from the elegant and refined Savennières to the mildly sweet, pretty-in-pink rosés of the Anjou. No big, bold, heavily tannic wines here. The culinary repertoire evokes a sense of the good life, with a nod to the royal legacy of châteaux living over centuries past. There is more gentility than dazzle in the cuisine; many dishes are simply presented, and they couldn't be better: a perfect pike-perch, called sandre, from the river, bathed in a silky beurre blanc sauce; coq au vin prepared with a fruity red Sancerre; a tender fillet of beef in a Chinon red-wine reduction sauce. It is the wines that highlight the Loire's gastronomic scene, and these alone justify a trip here, although of course, you could make time to visit a château or two while you're in the neighborhood.

Of Cabbages & Kings

The great kitchens of the royal households that set up camp throughout the Loire Valley planned their menus around the magnificent produce that thrives in this fecund region, dubbed the Garden of France. Local cooks still do. There are fat white asparagus in the spring; peas, red cherries, haricots vert beans, artichokes, and lettuces in the summer; followed by apples, pears, cabbages, and pumpkins in the fall. Restaurants glory in the seasonal harvests with market-driven specialties such as haricots verts with smoked Loire eel in a caviar cream sauce from the Château de Noizay near Vouvray—a salad fit for a king!

White Wines (Reds, Too!)

The Loire region spawns not only dazzling châteaux, but also some of the best wines in France—this is an intriguing, diverse, and important region for wine lovers, especially white-wine lovers, thanks to great chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc grapes. Top white appellations to imbibe, starting at the eastern end of the Loire and moving west, include bright, flinty Sancerres, slightly smoky Pouilly-Fumés, vigorous and complex Vouvrays, distinguished Savennières (with hints of citrus and quince), sparkling Champagne-style Saumurs, and finally the light, dry Muscadets, perfect with oysters on the half-shell. In the realm of reds, try the raspberry-scented reds of Touraine, the heartier and more tannic Chinons and Bourgueils, and the elegant rosés of the Anjou. For tastings, just follow the "Dégustation" signs, though it's always a good idea to call ahead. Check out Domaine Huet in Vouvray (02-47-52-78-87); Charles Joguet in Chinon (02-47-58-55-53); Domaine de Baumard in Savennières (02-441-78-70-03); and Bouvet-Ladubay in Saumur (02-41-83-83-83).

Tarte Tatin

This luscious "upside-down" apple tart is sometimes claimed by Normandy, but originated, so legend has it, at the Hotel Tatin in the Loire Valley town of Beuvron-Lamotte south of Orléans. The best tarts Tatin are made with deeply caramelized apples cooked under a buttery short-crust pastry, then inverted and served while still warm.

Beurre Blanc

Made with a shallot, wine vinegar, and fish-stock reduction, and swirled with lots of butter, this iconic white sauce originated in the western Loire about a century ago in the kitchen of an aristocrat whose chef devised this variation on the classic béarnaise sauce. Beurre blanc is the perfect accompaniment to the Loire's delicate shad and pike, a combo that's ubiquitous on local menus.

Chèvre

With your glass of Pouilly Fumé or Sancerre, there are few things better than one of the region's great goat cheeses, tangy, herby, and assertive. Among the best, appellation-controlled and farmhouse-made: the squat, pyramid-shaped Pouligny-Saint-Pierre; the creamy, cylindrical Sainte-Maure de Touraine; and the piquant little barrel-shaped Crottins de Chavignol from Sancerre. Try a warmed and melty Crottin atop a mixed-greens salad for a real treat.

—By Linda Dannenberg