After years of promoting Muscadet wine, Le Voyage à Nantes is launching its own vintage: “Le Muscadet du Voyage.”
For its 15th edition Voyage à Nantes is launching a four-year cycle based on Nature’s four elements. This wine, made specially for the event, echoes this theme of the earth, since wine originates in the deep roots that draw nutrients from the soil, nourishing the vines and shaping the grapes’ and wine’s unique sensory character.
Terres, the “Muscadet du Voyage” is a collectively made wine that celebrates the diversity of the terroirs of the Nantes wine region. Rather than choosing a wine from a single producer to represent the event, juices were selected from different estates within the main local terroirs (granite, gabbro, orthogneiss, amphibolite and schist). All are certified organic. In order to select the juices (one per terroir), a blind tasting phase was carried out. The juices were then blended in selected proportions to create a wine that reveals the complementary nature of each terroir. The wine was then matured in a single vat until bottling in public, in the courtyard of the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, as part of the festivities of La Nuit du Van 2026 on 4 July 2026.
Bottling of the wine
Saturday 4th of July
During La Nuit du Van, the grand opening celebration of the Voyage à Nantes’ summer programme, the courtyard of Château des Ducs de Bretagne – the central venue for this grand celebration – was selected as the bottling location of Terres. This final stage in the production of the wine was carefully staged, complete with all the machinery involved (bottling machine, labelling machine, giant vats, etc.), for a spectacular, fun and festive event.
Production / Distribution
5,000 bottles of Terres, the “Muscadet du Voyage” are available for sale. The wine is not being distributed through traditional channels (bars, restaurants, wine merchants, etc.) so as not to compete with these markets. In keeping with its mission as a promotional and educational wine, it is only available for sale at ambassador outlets at a price of €12 per bottle (cases are also available for purchase) from July 5th.:
- at the official Voyage à Nantes giftshop, the “Bazar Officiel du Voyage” (Rue des États, Nantes) – From 4 July – 6.00 pm
- at Château de la Frémoire (Vertou)
- at the HAB Galerie bookshop (Quai des Antilles, Nantes)
- at the Château des ducs de Bretagne bookshop
Available by the glass only (€4), or by the bottle for consumption on the premises (€24), from July 5th.:
- at La Cantine du Voyage (during the summer season),
- at Les Délices du Plongeon (courtyard of the Château des ducs de Bretagne)
- at the Château de la Frémoire
Alcohol abuse is dangerous to your health. Drink responsibly.
The label
The wine’s unique label was designed by the French illustrator and author Pauline Barzilaï. Exploring the fields of drawing, painting and book illustration, Pauline is involved in a wide range of projects including exhibitions, artist residencies, children’s books, fanzines, music videos, workshops and live performances. Her work develops on themes ranging from natural landscapes and theatre sets, to encyclopaedias and caves. She is also working on a tram for this edition.
Muscadet
An educational vintage
While Muscadet is now widely available at fine restaurants in Nantes and elsewhere, and widely recognised by sommeliers – from bistros to three-Michelin-starred restaurants, from Clisson to Ulaanbaatar – the general public remains largely unaware of just how rich and unique Muscadet is. This project showcases the diverse range of terroirs in the Nantes region, which result in Muscadet wines with very different characters, in addition to the producers’ individual styles. The production of this wine is also an opportunity to explain the winemaking process, from harvest to bottling.
A mosaic of terroirs
There isn’t just one Muscadet – there are many! The Muscadet winegrowing region is a mosaic of terroirs and appellations, which give the wines their distinctive character.
Melon B – the Muscadet grape
Melon B (or Melon de Bourgogne) is a French white wine grape variety. It is cross between Pinot Noir and a grape variety that is now extinct, Gouais Blanc. It owes its original name to the shape of its leaves, which are very rounded and resemble those of a melon. The berries, which are small and round, grow in small clusters. Originating from Burgundy but rarely used there, Melon B is widespread in Loire Atlantique. It is the main variety of the Nantes wine region (accounting for 95 per cent of production), and with very few exceptions, is found nowhere else in the world. Muscadet wines are pale-coloured white wines with a fresh, floral and saline nose, finishing with citrus notes. On the palate, the minerality of the terroir and marine influence are immediately apparent.
Appellation
Melon B production covers more than 7,000 hectares within the Muscadet appellations (4 AOCs and 10 communal or village appellations), making it the largest single-varietal white wine region in Europe. It is one of the few French grape varieties to have an appellation entirely dedicated to it. In fact, Melon B is strictly the only variety authorised under the Muscadet appellation. The Muscadet AOC, an official appellation since 1937, stretches from the Atlantic to the edge of Anjou, and from the banks of the Loire to Vendée.