Just east of Tours we drove to the small town of Vouvray, where we ventured off the beaten track to visit more small producers and take in the incredible scene of endless vineyards. Here’s a short clip…

Vouvray AOC is a premium appellation for Chenin Blanc. The wines may be bone-dry (sec), delightfully off dry (demi-sec), medium, sweet or sparkling. Most are medium-bodied with high acidity, unoaked, with citrus, green tropical fruit notes (lemon, apple, pineapple), and some vegetal aromas (green leaf).

Vouvray has great terroir. Those from clay soil might lean towards a fruitier flavour, while those made on flinty clay soil may have more minerality. Typically drunk young, the best years of Vouvray have been known to produce wines that last up to 100 years in excellent condition, showing that when done well, Chenin Blanc has great aging potential.

The Vouvray wine cellar, or Cave des Producteurs des Grands Vins de Vouvray, was a very interesting visit. Formed over forty years ago, it’s a “common storage” for a large group of growers. A wine-tasting board decides which wines will be aged and the cellar has a capacity of 2 million bottles.

I was fortunate enough to try a number of lovely examples, including a very golden coloured Moelleux. The older versions in particular exuded quince, honey and almond with great all round complexity. And those sparkling Vouvrays just rock – yet another one to look out for.

So, to conclude ‘A week in Loire Valley’, without further delay and as promised, here is Curious Wines first tasting video from Loire Valley, via Bandon, to your living room (or wherever you are).

What did you expect, eh? Here’s our two stellar Vouvrays.

From the creator of Curryous Curries comes this exquisite Moroccan dish, which is perfect with our Vouvray Demi Sec. An easy dish to prepare (given a bit of time of course), it brings the aromas and flavours of this beautiful country right into your kitchen. Forget the restaurant, become the restaurant.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Serves 4

For the harissa paste:
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 fresh red chillies, chopped (depending on preferred heat)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tsp tomato purée
2 tsp ground caraway seeds
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
½ tsp salt

For the tagine:
olive oil, for frying
5cm / 2 in piece cinnamon stick
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
500g boneless lamb shoulder, cubed
1 pint stock (preferably lamb)
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp honey
2 courgettes, cut into bite-size chunks
2.5cm / 1 in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
100g ready-to-eat dried apricots, halved
250g couscous
2 lemons, juice and finely grated zest
a large bunch of fresh coriander (or mint), roughly chopped
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp flaked almonds

-  For the harissa paste, blend all the ingredients in a food processor, adding an extra tablespoon of olive oil or a tablespoon or two of water if necessary.
-  For the tagine, heat the olive oil in a tagine or large casserole dish until very hot and add the cinnamon stick, cook for 10 seconds to flavour the oil, reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and the harissa paste and cook for 3 minutes.
-  Add the lamb and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the lamb pieces are browned on all sides.
-  Reduce to a low heat and add the stock, chopped tomatoes and the honey.  Cover with a lid and bring to the boil.  Simmer gently for 1 hour 15 minutes.
-  Add the courgettes, ginger and apricots and simmer for a further 20-30 minutes, or until the lamb and vegetables are meltingly tender and the sauce is thick.
-  Meanwhile, about 5-10 minutes before the end of simmering, cook the couscous according to the packet instructions, and mix thoroughly with half of the fresh coriander (or mint), the lemon juice and the zest.
-  When the stew is done, season to taste and remove the cinnamon stick, if preferred. Stir in the almonds and the remaining fresh coriander (or mint) and serve with the couscous and enjoy with a Vouvray Demi Sec.