How to pour
a Sancerre in
Place the bottle in the fridge for three hours so it reaches 8 to 10 degrees. Below 8 degrees, the grapefruit and gooseberry disappear behind the acidity, while above 12 degrees the alcohol comes to the fore. If you’re in a hurry, a bucket with half water and half ice brings the bottle to temperature in fifteen minutes.
Cut around the capsule just below the raised ridge on the neck and wipe the neck clean. Place the spiral in the center of the cork and turn it straight down. Sancerre is almost always drunk young, so the cork is still firm and comes out in one motion.
Decanting isn’t necessary here and is usually even undesirable, because the wine warms up far too quickly in a decanter. What does help with a flint-bottle wine: pour a little into the glass and let it stand for two or three minutes. The flinty note then comes through more clearly than immediately after pouring.
Pour until the glass is about one-third full and put the bottle back in the fridge or cooler. A small glass that you refill more often stays cooler than a large glass left standing for half an hour, and with this wine, those few degrees make the difference between fresh and flat.
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The story
Sancerre is an appellation in the east of the Loire, around the hill town of the same name. The white wine is made from sauvignon blanc, while the red and rosé wines are made from pinot noir. What makes the region distinctive is that three clearly different soil types lie alongside one another. Terres blanches consists of chalk and marl and produces broad, fuller wines that can handle some ageing. Caillottes is shallow soil full of pebbles and produces light, immediately accessible wines. Silex, the flint soil, produces the most taut wines, with the smoky note that Sancerre is associated with.
The right glass
Sancerre needs to stay cool, and that works best in a glass that does not hold too much. A bowl of around 25 centilitres filled one-third full is empty long before the wine becomes lukewarm, and the slightly narrowed rim keeps the grapefruit and gooseberry notes together. A glass with a capacity of sixty centilitres works against you here. If it is a flinty wine or a red Sancerre made from pinot noir, a little more room is helpful; that is why two sizes are shown below. Find all sizes among the white wine glasses, and for the table, see the wine coolers.
Chef & Sommelier Sublym Wine Glass 25 cl (6 pieces)
Schott Zwiesel Fortissimo White Wine Glass 40.4 cl (4 pieces)
Both sets together € 55,90.
The right tools
For a Sancerre, besides the glass, you mainly need a corkscrew and, to keep the bottle cool, a wine cooler. The bar tools below only come into play when sauvignon blanc goes into a spritz or a wine cocktail: a bar spoon for stirring and a zester for a strip of citrus peel. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 54,85.
What do you serve alongside it?
Sancerre usually takes center stage at the table, alongside the cheese or starter, so something often follows. These are the wines that naturally accompany it, from a glass of crémant beforehand to a red wine with the main course. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails pair with it and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
Across the river lies Pouilly-Fumé, a separate appellation with the same grape and almost the same flavor profile; in a blind tasting, people rarely distinguish the two. There is also red and rosé Sancerre made from pinot noir, which many people do not know because most of the production is white. The red is light in color and should be served cooler than an average red wine, at around 12 to 14 degrees; drink the rosé like the white at 8 to 10 degrees. Want to read more? View all drinks and brands.
Serving tip
The classic pairing is a half-hour drive from the vineyards: Chavignol goat's cheese, from a village within the appellation. The acidity of the wine and the acidity of the fresh cheese are in sync, while the green, herbal note in the glass complements the cheese. Sancerre also goes well with asparagus, smoked fish and salads with herbs.
Good to know
Terres blanches, caillottes and silex
The three soil types are interspersed across the hills around Sancerre, and each produces a different wine. Terres blanches is limestone with marl: it produces broader, more substantial wines that can age for a few years. Caillottes is shallow soil full of pebbles and produces lighter wines that open up when young. Silex is flint and produces the most taut, most focused wines of the three. Many bottles are a blend of parcels, but winemakers also bottle the soils separately and put the name on the label.
Where the flinty note comes from
Wine from silex often has an aroma that people describe as flint or like the smell of two stones struck together, sometimes also as smoky. It has not been proven that the wine literally tastes of the soil; what is clear is that bottles from those parcels show that note remarkably often. It comes through most clearly after the wine has been in the glass for a few minutes.
Pouilly-Fumé on the other bank
Pouilly-Fumé lies opposite Sancerre on the other side of the Loire and is a separate appellation using the same grape. The wines are very similar: the same citrus and gooseberry, and the same smoky character on flint-soil parcels. The word fumé in the name refers to that smoky note. If you are looking for sancerre and the shelves are empty, this is the closest substitute.
The red and rosé sancerre that few people know
Pinot noir may also be planted within the same appellation, and is used to make red and rosé sancerre. Most of the production is white, so outside the region you rarely come across the red version. It is light in colour and tannins, with red fruit, and is served cooler than an average red wine, at around 12 to 14 degrees.
How much alcohol it contains
White sancerre usually contains roughly 12.5 to 13.5 percent alcohol. The region lies fairly far north, so the grapes rarely ripen to very high sugar levels. The percentage is always stated on the label.
Frequently asked questions
Which grape is sancerre made from?
White sancerre is sauvignon blanc. Pinot noir is also grown within the same appellation, and is used to make red and rosé sancerre. Sancerre is therefore a regional name, not a grape variety, although most of what you see in shops is white wine made from sauvignon blanc.
What does sancerre taste like?
Grapefruit and citrus up front, with gooseberry and a green, herbal note often described as boxwood. The acidity is high and the finish is dry. If the wine comes from flint-soil parcels, it has a lightly smoky, flinty note.
What is the difference between sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé?
They lie opposite each other on either side of the Loire and use the same grape, sauvignon blanc. In the glass, they seem very similar: the same citrus, gooseberry and smoky notes. They are two separate appellations, but work almost seamlessly as substitutes for each other.
At what temperature and in which glass do you serve sancerre?
Between 8 and 10 degrees, in a glass of around 25 centilitres that you fill one-third full. A small glass that you refill more often keeps the wine cooler than a large balloon glass. Put the bottle back in the fridge or an ice bucket in between servings.
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