The Château de Goulaine is a historic

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

located in the Loire Valley wine region near

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, France. The property has been home to the family of the marquis de Goulaine for over a thousand years.F. Prial
"A New Wine and Other Tricks From an Old Loire Vintner
, Wine Talk, ''New York Times'', November 5, 1997 The Goulaine name is also used for estate-bottled wine that is produced at the property.

History

In the 12th century, when the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

was independent, the first Goulaine, Jean de Goulaine, then captain of the city of Nantes, fortified the estate, which is still surrounded by marshes, to defend against attacks from

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

. The was of the old nobility, recorded in the Seventh Crusade (1248). During the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, the Goulaines fought for the Catholic League – Gabriel, sieur de Goulaine, at the head of fifty lancers, and his brother Jean, baron du Faouët, took the châteaux of Trogoff (Plouescat) and of Kérouzéré (Sibiril) in 1590. Gabriel was attached to the Bourbon cause in being made a

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

. The Goulaine family's ownership of the estate continued uninterrupted until 1788, when it was sold to a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

banker. This circumstance helped save the château from destruction during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. In 1858, the Goulaine family reacquired the estate and maintains it today.

Wines

While it is not clear exactly when the estate vineyard started producing wine for commercial use, rather than just family consumption, the millennium during which the estate of Château de Goulaine has been producing wine makes it the second-oldest known wine business still in existence, after the

Staffelter Hof Staffelter Hof is a family run winery, distillery and guest house situated in the small town of Kröv. It is situated in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the sixth oldest company in the world that remains ...

winery in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, Germany.Halkin, Joseph et Roland, C.-G. "Recueil des Chartes de l’Abbaye de Stavelot-Malmédy", Brüssel 1909. The Goulaine winery is believed to be one of the oldest commercial enterprises in the world, and it is considered the oldest European family owned business. The castle estate is one of the last

châteaux of the Loire Valley The châteaux of the Loire Valley (french: châteaux de la Loire) are part of the architectural heritage of the historic towns of Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Montsoreau, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours along the river Loire in France. They illustr ...

to still be producing wine. In addition to producing a Muscadet, the Goulaine winery produces a

Sancerre Sancerre () is a medieval hilltop town (ville) and commune in the Cher department, France overlooking the river Loire. It is noted for its wine. History Located in the area of Gaul settled by the powerful Celtic (Gaule Celtique) tribe, the Bitu ...

and a

Vouvray Vouvray (, , ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is around 9 km east of the centre of Tours. It is best known for its production of white wine, rated among the best in France. Population Education Schoo ...

, as well as what is believed to be the first commercial

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

in the western Loire Valley. The estate also grows some

Folle blanche Folle blanche, also known as Picpoule, Gros Plant, and Enrageat blanc, is a wine grape variety from southwest France. It was the traditional grape variety in Cognac and Armagnac production until the 20th century. Folle blanche is an offspring o ...

Architecture of the château

The style of the château, under its high-pitched slate roofs, bears some comparison to the central Loire estates of

Château de Blois A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

and

Château de Chambord The Château de Chambord () in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with cla ...

. However, Château de Goulaine was built much earlier and in a more conservative style.

Butterfly aviary

Since 1984, hundreds of tropical butterflies are showcased in an aviary, flying freely among tropical plants. This project was initiated by Marquis Robert de Goulaine (1933–2010).

LU Museum

In the older stables, one can visit the LU Museum to see the art and advertising collection of the brand of

biscuits A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also b ...

. There are 500 works of art (paintings, sculptures). The brand is very important in Nantes because the production of "le Petit Beurre" biscuits was in the "quai Baco" in the factories of the family. Today, the brand history is told with their works of art.

Beurre blanc

According to one telling of the story, as favored by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

chef

Bobby Flay Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964), is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's ...

, the white sauce

beurre blanc ''Beurre blanc'' ("white butter" in French) is a warm emulsified butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar and/or white wine (normally Muscadet) and shallots into which softened whole butter is whisked in off the heat to prevent separation. ...

was allegedly invented in the kitchen of Château de Goulaine by the head cook, Madame Clémence Lefeuvre.CBS News '
Bobby Flay's New Year's Good Luck Dish
'" December 28th, 2006

References

External links

*
Goulaine winery
– Cassidy Wines {{DEFAULTSORT:Goulaine, Chateau de Wineries of France Castles in Pays de la Loire Châteaux in Loire-Atlantique Historic house museums in Pays de la Loire Châteaux of the Loire Valley Museums in Loire-Atlantique