The extensive wine country of the Loire Valley boasts more than 600 wine caves, embedded into rock surfaces underground and along the riverbanks of the Loire and its tributaries. These subterranean wine caves provide optimum environments for the storage and aging of wine, and are abundant throughout the Loire Valley due to the regions generally weak rock, suitable for carving out caves.

In todays' wine industry, caves are increasingly being used due to the many financial and environmental benefits, such as low energy and minimalised land usage. The high humidity of these caves, ranging between 70-90%, reduces wine evaporation and provides an ideal environment for storing red and white wine (suggested humidity over 75% for reds and over 85% for whites). The constant optimum temperatures, 13°C-15.5°C, provides a perfect environment for storing wine all-year-round.

The wine caves of the Loire Valley offer intriguing insights into the processes of wine cultivation. Many caves throughout Touraine offer dégustations, allowing you to experience wine tasting in a new and authentic way. However, we offer our local knowledge to select private caves with only the best wine producers, allowing you to avoid the maddening crowds of other tourists (see our exclusive wine tour).