About this episode

Janina explores the diverse Loire Valley wine region, discussing its climate, soils, grape varieties, and winemaking styles for WSET Diploma D3 preparation.

In this wine podcast episode, Janina takes you on a deep dive through the Loire Valley - one of the world’s most diverse and fascinating wine regions - using the WSET Diploma textbook as a guide. Whether you're studying for the D3 Wines of the World exam, planning future wine travel, or simply want to learn about wine in a more structured way, this flashcard-style episode explores the Loire Valley from the Atlantic coast to Sancerre in the east. Discover the region’s climate, soils, wine grapes and winemaking styles, including Muscadet, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, while building a deeper understanding of French wine and wine education along the way. Timestamps 2:18 – Introduction to the Loire Valley - history, the river, and how regions are divided 3:22 – Overview of the regions and key grape varieties - Melon, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc 4:13 – Pays Nantais: Region & Grapes - Melon de Bourgogne, Muscadet, and Folle Blanche 4:54 – Pays Nantais: Climate & Challenges - maritime climate, spring frost, and rainfall risks 6:00 – The Melon Grape - why it thrives here, its viticultural traits, and disease vulnerabilities 7:06 – Muscadet…

People in this episode

Host: Janina Doyle

Topics covered

• Loire Valley wine region
• French wine education
• WSET Diploma D3
• wine grapes
• winemaking styles
• wine travel

Keywords

• Loire Valley
• French wine
• WSET Diploma
• Muscadet
• Chenin Blanc
• Cabernet Franc
• Sauvignon Blanc
• wine education
• wine travel

Mentioned in this episode

Products: WSET Diploma, Muscadet, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Melon de Bourgogne, Folle Blanche

Places: Loire Valley, Sancerre, Pays Nantais

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