Wine for the summer

With summer holidays rapidly approaching I’m focusing on the Loire this week, given that so many of us will find ourselves in France in the coming months. 

The Loire is by far the easiest wine region to get to from Ireland by car as driving from either Roscoff or Cherbourg to Angers takes under four hours.

The Loire is one of the few French regions that offers white, rosé, red, sparkling and dessert wines. Admittedly red wines here tend to be lighter and with a more herbaceous character but I have always loved the red fruit freshness of Cabernet Franc-based Anjou-Villages, Chinon or Saumur, especially for drinking in warmer months.