The recognition of Touraine Oisly wines has its origins thanks to a fortuity: the discovery of
a Sauvignon Blanc climbing vine on a winegrower’s cottage in 1905.
Since then, a handful of artisan-winemakers have begun to carefully select and identify the parcels of vines best suited to the Sauvignon Blanc grape. These exceptional parcels are mainly sandy-clay soils. The terroir and specificity of Touraine Oisly was officially recognized in 2011 as an AOP (Protected Denomination of Origin).
FROM TOURAINE TO TOURAINE OISLY
Winegrowing in Touraine originates from the Roman Empire. Although, the cultivation of the vines really flourished between the 8th and 12th centuries thanks to the Church and the place Christianity gave to wine.
The presence of the Royal Court in Blois and Chambord (just a few kilometres from Oisly!) in the 16th century has helped to develop the wine’s quality and strongly established the reputation of Touraine wines and the recognition of certain areas.
Touraine’s proximity to the waterways of the Loire and Cher rivers made it an important crossroads for the wine trade until the 19th century.
Paradoxically, it was an unfortunate event that highlighted the terroirs around Oisly: the Phylloxera crisis. The specialists discovered that sandy soils were less affected by the pest than other terroirs in Touraine. A chance for the winegrowers of this time! They planted vines widely and giving Sauvignon Blanc a place of choice!
The persistence and the dynamism of a group of winemakers then gave Touraine Oisly its recognition. First in 1961, with the creation of the “Cave Coopérative Vinicole de Oisly et Thésée”. Then in the 1980s, when the Touraine wine syndicate conduct a terroir survey of the area to recognize the connections found in wine between Sauvignon Blanc and the unique soils of Oisly. The rest is just good farming sense, as generations continue to carefully select the best parcels of vines to give Touraine Oisly wines a real identity!