Le Terroir
A taste of the land
Synonymous with the art of living, Touraine is also renowned for its gastronomy, as evidenced by the image of Rabelais and Gargantua, who fed on Touraine's fine food. Rich in top-quality local produce, the region has something for every palate, from savoury to sweet! You can enjoy charcuterie, especially rillette and rillons, géline de Touraine, fouaces, truffles, goat's cheese including the famous Sainte-Maure... accompanied by the region's distinctive AOC wines.
Our luxury hotel in the heart of Touraine allows you to make the most of your stay, whether it's gastronomic, historical, cultural or all at once, because tourism in Amboise is also about food!
AOC wines
Legend has it that it was Saint-Martin who planted the first vines in Touraine in the 4th century! They are said to overlook Marmoutier Abbey on the outskirts of Tours.
Today, the Touraine wine route boasts over a dozen red, white and rosé AOC wines. You can taste and buy in the cellars: Chinon, Touraine, Touraine-Amboise, Vouvray, Bourgueil, Montlouis-sur-Loire...
Rillette and Rillons
Rillette originated in Touraine in the 15th century. In the 19th century, Honoré de Balzac praised Touraine charcuterie and its specialities. He described rillons "as the remains of fried pork, resembling a cooked truffle".
Rillettes are meats cooked for a long time in fat and then crushed by hand or with a fork. Rillons are cubes of pork belly that are streaky, browned and preserved whole in their cooking fat.
Cheese
Sainte-Maure is Touraine's flagship cheese. This raw-milk goat's cheese is a veritable institution. Shaped like an elongated log with a rye straw through the middle, it can be eaten fresh or matured to suit individual tastes.
AOC since 1990, its production is limited to the south of the Indre-et-Loire department and around the village from which it takes its name: Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine.
