Angers-Saumur: the Tour de France on the wine side

From the sea to the vineyards, here is the beautiful program reserved for the cyclists for the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Granville and Angers! The cyclists will continue their immersion in the 3rd French wine region during the 4th stage from Saumur. Two great opportunities to "Share the passion" of the Grande Boucle by mixing our passions for sport & wine!

Route in the heart of the vineyards between Angers and Saumur

An irresistible urge pushes us to deviate from the well-defined route of the Tour to take an interest in the vineyards between Angers and Saumur, stretching around the Loire, the Layon and the Aubance rivers. This situation gives the vineyard a unique typicity due in particular to an atypical soil composed essentially of schist and tufa. The vineyard can also count on its different grape varieties such as Chenin or Cabernet Franc to offer wines of an extreme richness.

Time for the Tour... of theAnjou-Saumur vineyard

The white jersey is attributed... to the chenin grape variety, known and renowned for its white wines! The chenin grape variety offers dry white wines at the beginning of the harvestand sweet and syrupywines at the end.

The red and pink jerseys are worn... by the cabernet franc grape variety, which is very present in the Anjou and Saumur regions. The Cabernet Franc grape variety is also associated with Cabernet Sauvignon to offer a wide variety of wines.

The bubbly jersey goes to the excellent finebubbly winesproduced in the region, which are the perfect accompaniment to a stage win. Produced in cellars carved out of tufa stone, the region's emblematic white stone, these wines will surprise you!

Tour of the main appellations of Anjou-Saumur (Loire)

If 22 teams share the roads of the Tour de France, 32 appellations share the vineyards between Angers and Saumur. You might as well say that the two days of the stage will not be enough to discover them all!

Here is an overview of the map:

• White side: We find in particular the Savennières, dry whitewines very aromatic, complex, fresh and mineral, but also theCoteaux du Layon and Coteaux del'Aubance, sweetwhite wines with a golden colour and fruity and greedy aromas.
• Red wines: We can mention prestigious appellations such as Anjou-Villages Brissac, with its darkcolour and aromas of red fruit and liquorice, or Saumur-Champigny, offering rich aromas whileretaining finesse in the mouth.
• Rosé side: You can accompany the beautiful days of the Grande Boucle with a Cabernet d'Anjou, a tender andfruity rosé, or a Cabernet de Saumur, slightly drier than the Cabernet d'Anjou. The Roséd'Anjou and the Rosé deLoire will also be good teammates for the summer.
• On the fine bubbles side: The Tour De France promises great victories to celebrate with a Crémant-de-Loire or a Saumur-Brut.

Gourmet stages between Angers and Saumur

The Tour de France is above all a team adventure! For this reason, the wines will be able to count on thegastronomic specialities ofthe region to accompany and enhance them!

To name but a few, discover rillauds, pieces of confit pork belly; galipettes, large button mushrooms that are often stuffed; fouace or fouées, small loaves of bread to be The "bouilleture d'anguilles", a dish of eels simmered in wine and accompanied by mushrooms, or a fricassee of poultry à l'angevine.

To finish on a sweet note, let yourself be seduced by a crémet d'Anjou, a dessert made with fresh whipped cream and egg whites, served on a bed of red fruits.

Stage commentary: Rich and sparkling, the vineyards between Angers and Saumur are worth a visit to appreciate the typicality and diversity of the region's wines:dry or mellowwhite wines, full-bodied or fruity reds, dry or soft rosés, and wineswith fine bubbles.

Quentin(Les Grappes)