Touraine
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The Touraine [ ˈtuʁɛn ] is a historic province in France . Its capital is Tours .
Location and history
The Touraine is crossed by the Loire and its tributaries Cher , Vienne and Indre , it belongs to the greater Paris basin and is part of the Center-Val de Loire region . It extends mainly over the Indre-et-Loire department and parts of the Loir-et-Cher and Indre departments . The Touraine got its name from the Gallic tribe of the Turons . It was called the garden of France early on and was the preferred residence of French kings in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance . Its numerous castles are known , such as Amboise , Azay-le-Rideau , Chenonceau , Chinon , Loches and Villandry .
There are 29 preserved dolmens in the Touraine . (e.g. Dolmen d'Hys , Dolmen de la Grotte aux Fées , Dolmen de Mallée , Dolmen de Marcilly , Le Pavé de Saint Lazare , Les Palets de Gargantua ), 23 menhirs ( Menhir de Vaujours ) and eight stones with scoring grooves .
Touraine appellation
In terms of viticulture law , the Touraine also has the status of an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC). The history of wine in this region is inextricably linked to the history of France and dates back to the 4th century. The complex soils and the influence of the continental climate are the two central factors that determine the viticulture of Touraine. The wines obtained here come from different grape varieties, including Gamay for the red wines (60 percent of the grape variety inventory) and Sauvignon Blanc for the white wines (80 percent), and are aromatic and lively with notes of red fruits or honeysuckle and tropical fruits.
Personalities
- Honoré de Balzac
- René Descartes
- Jacques-François Menou
- François Rabelais
- Martin of Tours
- Alfred de Vigny
- Leonardo da Vinci
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of the appellation at www.vins-france.com ( Memento of the original from November 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
