French wine appellations have a reputation for being difficult to pronounce, especially for beginners who don't happen to be French. But even wine lovers with a long Gallic history can have trouble handling the names of the Loire.
That is why Loire Valley Wines has teamed up with Katie Melchior (also known as @FrenchWineTutor) to create an audio guide to 10 appellations in the Loire Valley.
Just download this infographic map, open in Adobe Acrobat and click the audio icons to hear French pronunciations of 10 appellations on the Loire Valley map, read by Katie herself.
Here is an example of a region that many people might find difficult to pronounce: Touraine Oisly - two-rain owelly. This is a subregion of the Touraine appellation, centered around the town of Oisly. The climate is semi-continental, with drier summers and colder winters than in other areas of the Touraine. The soils are sand over clay, which is the right soil for the Sauvignon grape, which is all they grow in these 50 acres of vineyards.
Raphaël Midoir carries on in his family's tradition as he walks the paths between the vines as four generations have done before him. Alcohol sits at 14.1% abv and the price is less than $20.
This 2018 Raphaël Midoir Touraine Oisly La Plaine des Cailloux looks beautiful in the glass, with a rich golden color suggesting either age or sweetness. It is definitely not a dessert wine, so it is possible that the five years are showing in the color. However, it is said that the golden color is an identifying feature of wines from the Touraine Oisly. The palate is full of apples and flowers, while the palate has a savory presentation of citrus, apricot and a hint of grapefruit. It is definitely an old world Sauvignon Blanc, with all the elegance that implies.
