The winemakers of Anjou and Saumur offer to brighten up February with a weekend wine Festival on 18 – 19 May 2024 at Challonnes-sur-Loire (49 Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire). This is not be be confused with the Loire Valley Wine Fair in Angers at the end of January, which is a trade event. This Fete des Vins d’Anjou sounds much more fun with an opportunity to taste wines from the 29 appellations in Anjou/Saumur (no – I could not identify all of them) – and an exhibition on wine, Anjou wine tasting and a tour of the cellars, an exhibition of agricultural and wine-growing equipment, “a wine brotherhoods parade complete with enthronements” (i.e. mainly men dressing up in strange garb and indulging in some quasi-historical ceremonies) and a contest to find the “Best Anjou Tasters”.
The region does offer pretty much the whole gamut of red, white and rosé wines, dry, medium, dessert; still and sparkling – you might be surprised at the quality of some of the Cabernet Franc reds!
Not sure if our friends from Domaine Leduc-Frouin will be there – we used to stock their wines and miss the chance to taste them as regularly as we used to. But I hear recently that they had a good write up in the “Revue du Vin de France”, France’s most serious wine magazine – their red Anjou Rouge AC 2005 was rated at 17.5/20 and an impressive 19/20 for their stunning dessert Chenin – Coteaux du Layon AC Nectar 2002.
For more info on the domaine and their wines see www.leduc-frouin.com
For more info see www.anjou-tourisme.com