Subregion
Centre-Loire
At the upstream end of the Loire vineyard, around Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire, the Centre-Loire is the reference home of Sauvignon Blanc: three soil families — marly terres blanches, limestone caillottes and flinty silex — give three distinct readings of one variety. Pinot Noir also makes light reds and rosés here, the only black grape allowed in Sancerre.
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
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- Pouilly-Fumé
On the right bank of the Loire, facing the Sancerre hills, Pouilly-Fumé — officially "Pouilly-Fumé" or "Blanc Fumé de Pouilly" — gathers seven communes of the Nièvre around the hill of Saint-Andelain. The appellation makes only dry, still white wines, from Sauvignon Blanc alone. Its name comes from "blanc fumé", the local name for Sauvignon, whose berries take on a grey bloom as they ripen. The same specification governs a separate neighbouring appellation, Pouilly-sur-Loire, reserved for whites made from Chasselas.
- Sancerre
In the Centre-Loire, on the left-bank hills facing Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre covers fourteen communes of the Cher. Recognised in 1936, the appellation makes whites from Sauvignon Blanc alone and reds and rosés from Pinot Noir alone, on three main soil types: the marls known as "terres blanches", the limestones called "caillottes", and flinty soils.
Sources
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Sancerre »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)