Anjou wine

Anjou wine is produced in the Loire Valley wine region of France near the city of Angers. The wines of region are often grouped together with the wines of nearby Saumur as "Anjou-Saumur". Along with the wines produce further east in Touraine, Anjou-Saumur make what is collectively known as the "Middle Loire" (as opposed to the "Upper Loire" which includes the wine regions of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Within the Anjou wine region are several Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC)s responsible for a broad spectrum of wines including still red, white and rosé produced with varying levels of sweetness. Extending across the Deux-Sèvres, Maine-et-Loire and Vienne départements, the generic Anjou AOC appellation and its various sub-appellations encompasses vineyards across more than 151 communes.

Wine expert Tom Stevenson describes the wines of the area as being a "microcosm of the Loire Valley", featuring wines made from every grape variety and in almost every style produced in the entire Loire wine region. Among the wines of Anjou, Savennières is noted for its dry Chenin blanc wines and the Coteaux du Layon for its sweet dessert wines that includes the botrytized wines of Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume. Various rosé wines are produced in the region under different AOC designation include Rosé d'Anjou, the most basic level made predominantly from Grolleau, and Cabernet d'Anjou which is usually made from Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. For most of its history, dry red wines have represented a small percentage of Anjou winemaking but in recent years the numbers have been steadily increasing—aided, in part, by the 1987 establishment of the Anjou-Villages AOC designation for red wines which can be made from only Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The Gamay grape of the Beaujolais wine region has had a long history in the Anjou with its own Anjou-Gamay AOC. Grapes from around the region can go into basic Anjou blanc and Anjou Rouge AOC wines.

Anjou

Anjou (French pronunciation: ​[ɑ̃ʒu]; Latin: Andegavia) is a former French county (in that it was ruled by a count, from c. 880), duchy (1360), and province. Its capital was the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley. The territory has no very clear geographical borders but instead owes its territory and prominence to the fortunes of its various rulers.

Henry "Curtmantle", count of Anjou, inherited the kingdom of England on October 25, 1154, becoming Henry II. The resulting Angevin Empire would, at its peak, spread from Ulster to the Pyrenees. Henry's son Richard I had no legitimate issue upon his death, so in 1199 Anjou passed to his nephew, Arthur of Brittany (the posthumous son of Henry II’s fourth son Geoffrey), while the Crown of England passed to Henry II’s fifth son and Richard’s youngest brother, John. Count Arthur was taken prisoner by his uncle the king in 1203 and disappeared under suspicious circumstances. In 1205, the county was seized by Philip II Augustus of France. Its status was elevated to that of a duchy for Prince Louis, the second son of Jean II and remained as such until the Revolution. Anjou corresponds largely to the present-day department of Maine-et-Loire.

Anjou–Louis-Riel

Coordinates: 45°36′N 73°36′W / 45.60°N 73.60°W / 45.60; -73.60

Anjou–Louis-Riel is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It is located in northern Montreal and consists of the Anjou borough of Montreal plus a part of the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.

The riding was created in 1972 under the name Anjou. For the 2012 election, it was renamed to Anjou–Louis-Riel, but its territory was unchanged.

Members of the National Assembly

Anjou

Anjou–Louis-Riel

Election results

Anjou–Louis-Riel, 2011 - present

^ Change is from redistributed results. CAQ change is from ADQ.

Anjou, 1972 - 2011

References

External links

Chenin blanc

Chenin blanc (known also as Pineau de la Loire among other names), is a white wine grape variety from the Loire valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make everything from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled. Outside the Loire it is found in most of the New World wine regions; it is the most widely planted variety in South Africa, where it is also known as Steen. The grape may have been one of the first to be grown in South Africa by Jan van Riebeeck in 1655, or it may have come to that country with Huguenots fleeing France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Chenin blanc was often misidentified in Australia as well, so tracing its early history in the country is not easy. It may have been introduced in James Busby's collection of 1832, but C. Waterhouse was growing Steen at Highercombe in Houghton, South Australia by 1862.

It provides a fairly neutral palate for the expression of terroir, vintage variation and the winemaker's treatment. In cool areas the juice is sweet but high in acid with a full-bodied fruity palate. In the unreliable summers of northern France, the acidity of under ripened grapes was often masked with chaptalization with unsatisfactory results, whereas now the less ripe grapes are made into popular sparkling wines such as Crémant de Loire. The white wines of the Anjou AOC are perhaps the best expression of Chenin as a dry wine, with flavors of quince and apples. In nearby Vouvray AOC they aim for an off-dry style, developing honey and floral characteristics with age. In the best vintages the grapes can be left on the vines to develop noble rot, producing an intense, viscous dessert wine which may improve considerably with age.