he vineyard of Orleans is a very old vineyard that had its time of glory centuries ago. The presence of the river Loire was certainly a positive factor for the choice of its implantation there around the 2nd , beginning of 3th century.

Its reputation went regularly on the increase over the years to reach its peak in the 16th century; Indeed, the French writer Rabelais did use vinestocks coming from the area of Orléans to plant the vineyards surrounding his "Temple of the Dive Bouteille (Holy Bottle)"

From everywhere, praise was overflowing in favour of the wines of Orleans, some people,going as far as to compare them favorably with the best wines from Burgundy (Let's admit: most French wines of the time were not much more than rough plonk!)
Unfortunately, from the mid. 16th century, the quality began to regress. By a judgment of 1577 aimed to protect the wine production of some important bourgeois from whereabouts of Paris, it was prohibited for tavern and inn tenants of the capital to stock up with low quality wine coming from places situated less than 90 km from Paris. Not long after, the Orléans vineyard started to lower its quality in order to produce the large quantity of "rotgut" required by the capital city. As expected, smear campaigns and bad advertisements ensued against these wines which gradually didn't interest anyone anymore.

Despite the disaffection shown by lovers of great wines, the vineyard managed to preserve its economical importance for the surrounding communities of Orleans. The maximum area under plantation seems to have been reached around 1825, when more than 21,500 ha were devoted to vineyards of Orleans' surroundings.