Cheese tastings, cave tours, markets and cheese routes in Loire Valley.
A guide to cheese experiences in Loire Valley.
Annual fair devoted to Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOP, with a market of regional food products, cheese competitions including the Chèvre d'Or, a mini-farm and entertainment. Free entry in 2026.
Covered market of Tours, opened in 1980, where stalls such as the affineur France Fromages sell Touraine goat cheeses alongside bakers, butchers and wine merchants.
A farm tasting of five ageings of Crottin de Chavignol, from fresh to dry, with either a glass of Loire wine or apple juice, at a goat farm a few kilometres from Sancerre.
Wine and cheese tasting in the boutique of a Chavignol affineur: a single Crottin de Chavignol, or a cheese and charcuterie plate, in a shop that also has an ageing facility with explanations of the craft.
A visit of a working goat farm and Sancerre vineyard, free to walk round and guided on request, with the making of Crottin de Chavignol to see and a tasting in the shop.
A guided visit of a goat dairy with about 150 milking goats, explaining how the herd is run and how Valençay and Selles-sur-Cher AOP are made, with cheese and wine tasting.
3-day Private tour to Top 7 Loire Valley Castles with 2 Wine tastings. Chenonceau, Amboise, Chambord, Blois, Chaumont, Da Vinci Clos Luce, Villandry by Mercedes. Live ...
Discover the Loire Valley and visit its three most prestigious castles of your choice on a private guided tour, at your pace, according to your wishes
Escape Paris for a magical day in the Loire Valley. Explore fairytale castles, wander charming Blois, and enjoy a local wine tasting along the way.
The AOP consortium says it marries wonderfully with a white Sancerre, and that it also likes Menetou-Salon, Pouilly-Fumé, Quincy or Reuilly.
60 to 90 g per cheese, according to the AOP consortium.
In the departments of Cher, Nièvre and Loiret, according to the AOP consortium.
A legend, repeated by the AOP consortium, says Talleyrand sliced the points off the pyramids before presenting them to Napoleon so they would not recall his Egyptian defeat; Wikipedia adds a variant in which Napoleon struck it with his sabre.
At least 11 days before it can be sold as AOP, according to the consortium and Wikipedia.
About 7 to 8 cm high and 6 to 7 cm along the base, weighing around 220 g; the Petit Valençay weighs 110 g (AOP consortium).
It once held the soft log together; today the consortium calls it a guarantee of authenticity and quality, and it is engraved with the appellation name and the maker's number. Wikipedia describes it as rye straw.
The consortium advises cutting the first slice from the widest end and easing out the straw gently.