The Chinon AOC is one of the flagship appellations of the Loire Valley, located in western Touraine within the Indre-et-Loire department. Recognized since 1937, it spans 26 communes along the Vienne and Loire rivers. It is the largest red wine appellation in the Loire Valley by volume.
Chinon is inextricably linked to the figure of François Rabelais, who was born in the region (in Seuilly). The writer celebrated these wines in his work (*Gargantua*), praising their forthright character and forever associating the appellation with Epicureanism and the pleasures of the table.
