Vouvray is an all-white wine appellation produced from the increasingly sought out Chenin Blanc grape in the heart of the Loire Valley, on the right bank of the river and east of the city of Tours. Depending on the vintage and the date of the harvest, spanning an extended season between August and November, Chenin Blanc offers a variety of styles from dry to medium-dry, even sweet, if gathered late in the season. For centuries, the Gautier family have owned Domaine de la Châtaigneraie. The total vineyard holding is currently 15 hectares. Benoît, a charismatic winemaker, well known in this part of the “Kings Valley“, has been in charge since 1981. Interestingly, the region features an assortment of limestone caves, where producers like the Gautier family mature their wines, thereby benefitting from their natural regulation of both temperature and humidity. Could it be a coincidence that this ancestral underground network of caves recalls the troglodyte house in Turkey where the legend of St George was born? A thought to ponder when considering the name of Benoît’s medium-sweet cuvee “Saint-Georges de Gautier”.