The Loire Valley, also known as the "Garden of France” has been blessed by temperate weather and good soil.  Here, France’s royalty built a thousand chateaux, some of the world's finest, and a short distance from Paris. The Loire Valley supplies much of France’s fresh vegetables and fruit, and produces some of France’s best wines, Sancere, Vouvray, Chinon, Saumur Champigny, Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil, to name a few. From its equally famous chèvre, the mushrooms of the troglodyte caves of Saumur, to the white asparagus grown in sandy Loire soil, the region offers a rich bounty for the good cook.