Despite being one of France’s oldest and most diverse wine regions, the Loire Valley is seeing a fresh wave of attention. Consumers are turning away from higher-priced wine-making areas and looking to the multiplicity and value of wines in the Loire.
The Loire Valley stretches around 280km east from the Atlantic Ocean along the Loire River and is the third-largest vinegrowing region in France with around 50 AOPs. Some 2 million hectolitres are harvested on average each year, according to Inter Loire, the Loire Wines Council, with 250 million bottles sold a year in 170 countries.
Offering alternatives
“In Loire we tick all the boxes at the moment,” says François Lieubeau, winemaker at Famille Lieubeau in Muscadet. “Loire is about diversity, but the dry whites and sparklings are super-popular at the moment – and they are low in alcohol, which is important currently, especially in the UK market. It’s also easy to access – these are wines you can start with as a wine drinker, as they’re very versatile and not too expensive compared to other regions.”
Well-positioned to offer a range of single varieties, the Loire is seeing its wines chosen in place of better-known, and more pricey, French wines. “I see a lot of potential in crémant and sparkling in general. It’s not only an alternative to champagne, but it represents celebration and the aperitif moment which is what people are looking for,” adds Lieubeau.
Also noticing this shift is Kathleen Van den Berghe MW, owner and managing director of Château de Suronde in the Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru and Layon terroirs, and Château de Minière in the Bourgueil AOC.
“Loire wines aren’t heavy, they’re digestible and food-friendly thanks to the acidity, and while wine consumption might go down, consumption of wine with food is still strong,” she says.
“Chenin Blanc is a popular grape because it makes qualitative white wines, and, as Burgundy is quite expensive, I think we benefit as a replacement – not fully, but for a high-quality white wine to have with food, Chenin Blanc is a good candidate.”
Julien Pinon, eighth generation winemaker at Domaine François et Julien Pinon in Vouvray, Vallée de Cousse, agrees, noting that currently many famous French wine regions have prices that are too high for consumers, while the Loire is more affordable.
He says: “It’s not a new region but it has been underrated for decades and now clients want something else besides Bordeaux or Champagne, and they want to try something new.
“Chenin Blanc has a small production in France. The growing area is very small and production is not very high so it’s not as common as other grapes. This is also why it’s interesting, because it’s new in terms of not many people know it, so it can appear intriguing for customers.
“Chenin Blanc is a great variety because in Vouvray we have the right to produce any type of white wine with only Chenin Blanc, which is a big strength, but it can also be a weakness because what is Chenin Blanc? Is it dry, sweet, sparkling? So it can be a bit tricky for the consumer who doesn’t know,” adds Pinon.
However, while a strength, Van den Berghe notes the diversity of wine in the Loire is also “a complexity because not everyone understands it and all the different styles. We have many interesting grapes, such as Grolleau and Gamay”.
She adds: “The variety is a plus but the market is complex, so I think we need to find a way to communicate that. The famous grapes like Muscadet and Sancerre are the ones I suppose people know and are super interesting, but there are many more too. Also sparkling Loire wine, for me, is a valid alternative to champagne at a reasonable price.”
In terms of what this looks like in the market, in June 2025 Inter Loire reported that overall Loire wines increased market share in volume within French wines to reach 4.5%. When it comes to style, sparkling wines recorded the strongest growth (12%), followed by still whites, which increased 4%. However, the volumes of red and dry rosé wines (-5%) and off-dry rosé (-2%) experienced a decline.
Environmental factors
While the Loire region is well positioned as a one-stop shop for consumers due to its variety of wines and value proposition, much like most wine-producing areas it also faces some challenges due to the changing climate.
“It’s a positive and a negative,” says Van den Berghe. “Overall it’s good for us. The temperature goes up so the grapes get more mature and the ripeness, especially of Cabernet Franc (since 2010 and 2015), is no longer a problem. But on the other hand, there is a lot of variability in climates with drought, humidity and frost. Every year we have a different problem but I think that’s the same for all winemaking regions. We’re on the good side of climate change, more ripeness without the alcohol going super high (except for 2018), but for the rest the alcohol is reasonable at 12.5%.”
Pinon notes that for Domaine François et Julien Pinon, the only positive of global warming is more maturity for the grapes, but to a point. The winery also faces varying weather problems, which, while not new concerns, are becoming more frequent and intense. “The Chenin Blanc’s acidity is a big strength against global warming. If it’s too hot, you have more sugar in the grapes and less acidity so the wine is less fresh, which is a big problem in the south of France. Even in a hot and dry year, Chenin Blanc still has enough acidity to have fresh wine. The trend is demand turning to dry wines and sweet wine decreasing a lot,” adds Pinon.
Lieubeau has also felt these effects of climate change, adding: “People may think because of global warming we’ll have less spring frost, but that’s wrong. Winters are cooler than they used to be, the vineyards are seeing the buds come earlier and spring frost is happening in late April, early May. We are investing a lot in weather stations and data, as well as protection. To me, that’s the main issue.
“Yields are decreasing in general due to climate change. I joined the winery 15 years ago and we knew spring frost was an issue so we invested in protection. We are one of the only wineries in the region to use the water sprayer. We spray water on the buds at night so the temperature for them never gets below zero degrees and they are protected. When the sun rises in the morning it melts the ice and protects the bud, which slowly comes back to life. The water you spray then goes back to the river because it’s on a slope, so it’s efficient but also costly. In a collective way, as winemakers we have a roadmap with the aim to have all our vineyards certified organic or sustainable by 2030. I think we are also in a good position because of the diversity – we have all the keys to be successful for the future.
“We are fighting in an environment that is not easy in terms of economic and environmental factors. There are many challenges, but we are not in a bad position and I feel quite confident,” Lieubeau continues.
As the Loire region leans into its strengths in terms of diversity and value of its offerings, Van den Berghe adds: “I am an eternal optimist in the sense that you have lots of new wine regions globally, but I think some lack the same heritage and terroir. We have the benefit of being exciting and having a long history, so there’s heritage and the styles fit.”
