French wines are divided in 4 categories. The AOC (Protected Designation of Origin) wines (35% of French wines) belong to the category subject to the strictest regulation, defined and controlled by the INAO (National Institute of Designations of Origin), which guarantees a quality and a genuineness that may not be reproduced outside its territory.

A wine of Protected Designation of Origin must have been elaborated according to a local know-how, with officially recognized noble grapes, planted and grown in a defined geographical area (the “terroir”), in accordance with defined oenological practices (maximum yield, maximum alcoholic volume ). Before the AOC status is granted, tasting and analysis are carried out to establish the authenticity and quality of wines.

The concept of AOC was developed in 1935. There are 63 Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées in the Loire Valley’s patchwork of wines from Nantes to Sancerre. (Red, Rosé, White, Still and Sparkling wines).

The CAVES DE GRENELLE produce high quality sparkling wines of AOC Saumur white and rosé and AOC Crémant de Loire.

source : Interloire
The sparkling wines AOC Saumur and AOC Crémant de Loire elaborated by the Caves de Grenelle find their unique characteristics and exceptional quality from the highly mastered wine making of Chenin. This complex grape only reveals its best flavours in the Loire Valley and, together with the Cabernet Franc, another typical noble grape of the region, produces fine wines of character and elegance.

These wines slowly come to maturity in old quarries, dug out in micaceous chalk (called “tuffeau”), which freshness provides the optimal conditions for the second fermentation (formation of bubbles).

The vineyards

A.O.C.

Saumur Brut