Varrains: Winegrowing and Historical Heritage

Varrains lies in the heart of the Saumur-Champigny appellation and is shaped primarily by winegrowing. If you would like to plan your stay around wine, there are several ways to explore it: tasting Saumur wines, taking a tour of Domaine des Varinelles, and visiting wineries with cellars carved into tuffeau. Historic buildings also define the village. Winegrowing and architectural history thus offer two distinct themes for planning your trip.

Winegrowing, Cellars, and Tastings

In Varrains, you can taste the full range of wines from the Saumur appellation, particularly Saumur-Champigny. Tasting provides a tangible way to experience the winegrowing that shapes the village. The wineries in Varrains include beautiful estates with cellars carved into tuffeau. These cellars are a local architectural feature; they are distinct from a guided tour of a single winery.

The tour at Domaine des Varinelles begins in the bottling facility, then continues through the winery and cellar. Wine tasting, a tour of the bottling facility, winery, and cellar, and the tuffeau cellars found at local wineries are therefore different ways to explore winegrowing. If you are making wine the focus of your trip, you can distinguish between them: the tasting focuses on the wines, the tour on the different parts of one winery, and the cellars on an architectural feature of local wineries.

Historic Buildings and Their Details

Varrains’ architectural history can also be explored at several locations. The manor house at 100 Grande Rue dates from the 18th century and is listed as a historic monument, along with its dovecote tower and the adjoining building to the west. The tower houses a dovecote with 650 nesting niches. This number is one of the specific features of this historic building.

The Château de Varrains at 11 Grande Rue was rebuilt in the 18th century on older foundations. Two side wings stand out on its façade, topped by crescent-shaped pediments. The surfaces are decorated with busts set in Renaissance-inspired medallions. The façade can thus be described by its wings, pediments, and medallions, while the older foundations and rebuilding provide a separate historical context.

The Château estate is arranged around three courtyards, each with a different name and features: an 1780 courtyard of honor, a service courtyard with stables and a dovecote, and a 19th-century wine courtyard. This layout distinguishes the courtyard of honor from the areas devoted to estate operations and winegrowing. For an architectural focus in Varrains, visitors can explore both the Château’s façade details and the layout of its estate.

The Church of Saint-Florent offers a different architectural comparison. Its nave has a wooden ceiling and round-arched windows that let in light. The choir contains an 18th-century marble altar and ends in an apse with a semi-dome. The features of the nave and choir are clearly distinct: the ceiling and windows define the former, while the altar and apse define the latter.

Events and Reasons to Visit

The traditional Fête des Ifs takes place in Varrains in September and includes events focused on wine and gastronomy. Since the program may change from one edition to the next, check the dates for the relevant year when planning your trip. The festival offers a different focus from a tasting or a tour: its events center on food and wine.

At the 2024 edition of the Foulées du Saumur-Champigny, runners came to Varrains; the routes passed through landscapes, vineyards, and wineries. The two events are therefore quite distinct: the Fête des Ifs is associated with wine and gastronomy, while the Foulées described for 2024 offered a sporting perspective on the landscape and winegrowing.

Discover more destinations: Neuillé, Seiches-Sur-Le-Loir, Saint-Melaine-Sur-Aubance, Feneu, Chemiré-sur-Sarthe, Le Puy-Notre-Dame, Trémont, Brain-Sur-Allonnes

Return to the regional travel overview: Maine-Et-Loire.