Divine

Loire

In our Magazine

Blois

In the cool dawn mist trailing off the Loire, Blois rises like the whispered memory of Valois grandeur — a city whose stones still murmur secrets from the day in 1588 when King Henri III orchestrated the assassination of the Duke of Guise within the resplendent walls of its château. Perched above the sinuous river, Blois is often painted in half-tones: a postcard city of turrets and half-timbered façades, it plays its part as the refined sibling to its flamboyant cousins Amboise and Chambord. But listen more closely — here, grapes whisper too. From the slopes of the surrounding hills, Chenin blanc and Gamay express the terroir with crystalline honesty: think brisk, mineral whites and playful reds, shaped by ancient flint soils and tempered by Atlantic breezes. The Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée of Cheverny, established in 1993, draws part of its identity from these lands just outside the city’s gaze. To feel Blois beyond the optics, time your arrival with late autumn: when the light folds gold across the river and the forest exhales its mossy perfumes, the moment clings with stunning grace. Follow the thread of history, vines and quiet grandeur in our articles beyond.