Crémant d'Alsace (France)

Crémant wines are produced the same way as Champagne.

The grapes used in Crémant d'Alsace are:

Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.

Typical Flavors

Citrus

Apple

Pear

Strawberry

Fermentation Flavors

Butter

Yeast

Bread

Almonds

Oak Added Flavors

Oak

Vanilla

Toast

Nuts

Citrus, Apple, Pear, and Strawberry are typical Crémant d'Alsace flavors.

Fermentation added notes of Vanilla, Yeast and Almonds.

Oak added notes of Vanilla, Yeast, and Nuts.

Profile

Crémant d'Alsace has much the same profile as Champagne:

Dry

Medium

Medium

High

Serving temperatures:
10-12°C (50-54°F)

Food Pairing

You can drink Sparkling Wines to almost everything.

Whether it is French Champagne, Spanish Cava, or Italian Prosecco.

Aperitif

Salads

Tapas

Sandwitch

Seafood

Oysters

Salmon

Sushi

Fries

Chicken

Turkey

Pork

Egg Dishes

Pasta

Risotto

Soft Cheese

Sparkling Wines pair well with salt, because the bubbles break up the salt in the mouth.

Acidity and bubbles also pair well with rich food and creamy and oily dishes.

Pairing Suggestions

Excellent pairings:
Caesar Salad. Seafood Salad.
Hors-d'œuvre. Sandwich. Focaccia.
Tapas. Ham. Serrano. Prosciutto.
Seafood. Oysters. Clams.
Crab. Lobster. Caviar.
Cod. Tuna. Smoked Salmon.
Fried Chicken. Turkey. Pork.
Egg Dishes. Omelettte. Risotto.
Pasta. Ravioli. Macaroni with Cheese.
Asian Food. Springrolls.
Sushi. Sashimi.

Cheese:
Soft and Fresh Cheeses.
Brie. Camembert.
Feta. Chèvre. Fontina. Creamy Blue.
Washed-Rind. Chaource. Robiola.

French Spesialities:
Reims Ham in Reims Mustard.
Poulet au champagne (Chicken with Champagne).

Italian Specialities:
Fritto Misto di Pesce (Deep Fried Fish).
Risotto ai Frutti di Mare (Risooto with Seafood).
Risotto with Asparagus.
White Fish (Sea Bass) with Polenta.
Lasagne with White Sauce.

French Crémant

The production method of Crémant is he same as Champagne, but often with other grapes.

n France, there are 8 Crémant appellations:

Crémant d'Alsace

The Primary grapes used in Crémant d'Alsace are:
Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.

Crémant de Bordeaux

The Primary grapes used in Crémant de Bordeaux are:
Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.

Crémant de Bourgogne

The Primary grapes used in Crémant de Bourgogne are the same as used in Champagne:
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Crémant de Die

The primary grapes used in Crémant de Die are:
Clairette, Aligoté, and Muscat.

Crémant de Jura

The primary grapes used in Crémant de Jura are:
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Trousseau.

Crémant de Limoux

The primary grapes used in Crémant de Limoux are:
Mauzac, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc.

Crémant de Loire

The primary grapes used in Crémant de Loire are:
Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir.

Crémant de Savoie

The primary grapes used in Crémant de Savoie are:
Jacquère, Altesse, and Chardonnay.

Méthode Champenoise

Méthode Champenoise is the method used to produce French Champagne.

With Méthode Champenoise (the production method of Champagne), the first fermentation takes place in a tank, and a second fermentation takes place in the bottle.

Adding CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) is not allowed.

The second fermentation starts by adding yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae) and sugar to the bottle, and after about 1 year, the bubbles are completely developed.

The legend credit a Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon (1639-1715), for inventing sparkling wine when he bottled a wine before fermentation, but the oldest recorded sparkling wine is Blanquette de Limoux from 1531.

The method is used for:

French Champagne
French Crémant
Spanish Cava
Italian Franciacorta
German Sekt
Portuguese Espumante

Méthode Champenoise is now reserved (by EU) for wines produced in Champagne:

Country	Must Use
England	Traditional Method
France	Méthode Traditionnelle
Spain	Método Tradicional
Portugal	Método Tradicional
Italy	Metodo Classico Metodo Tradizionale
Germany	Klassische Flaschengärung

Sugar Levels

Regulation EC 607/2009	Sugar gram/litre	Calories /glass
Brut Nature (Brut Zero)	0-3	3
Extra Brut	0-6	5
Brut	0-12	7
Extra Dry (Extra Sec, Extra Seco)	12-17	10
Dry (Sec, Seco)	17-32	20
Demi (Semi)	32-50	30
Doux (Sweet, Dulce)	50+	30+

Blanc de Blancs

Blanc de Blancs means "White from Whites".

Only White grapes are used in the production.

The main grape is Chardonnay.

It can also be another grape like Pinot Blanc, or a blend.

In Spain they use Spanish grapes like Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo.

In Germany they often use Riesling.

In South Africa they often use Chenin Blanc.

Blanc de Noir

Blanc de Noir means "White from Blacks".

Only Black grapes are used in the production.

The main grape is Pinot Noir.

It can also be another grape like Pinot Meunier, or a blend.

In Spain they often use Monastrell.

Alsace Wine Region

Alsace is dominated by white wine. 90% of all Alsace wine is white.

Wines from the Alsace region in France (in French: Vin d'Alsace) (German: Weinbau in Elsass) (English: Alsatian Wine) are primarily white wines.

Alsace in France and the Rhine region in Germany are known to produce the best Rieslings in the world, and Alsace is also famous for a especially food friendly Pinot Gris, and a highly aromatic Gewürztraminer.

In Alsace, both dry and sweet white wines are produced.

Riesling d'Alsace

In Alsace, some grapes thrive better than others, and just like in Germany (on the other side of the border), the king is Riesling.

Typical Alsatian Rieslings are dry, aromatic, a little fuller, and with more ripe fruit than the German ones.

Gewürztraminer d'Alsace

Gewürztraminer is a grape many people love. It is also a grape many people hate.

Bad Gewürztraminer can taste like bad perfume, but the good ones have fantastic aromas that no other grapes can copy: Grapefruit, Pineapple, Mango, Apricot, Lychee, Rose Petals, and Spices.

Pinot Gris d'Alsace

Italian Pinot Grigio and Alsatian Pinot Gris is the same grape, but Alsatian wines are more fruity, with more aromas, and more sweetness.

Alsatian Pinot Gris has a balanced intensity that pairs well with many types of food. It matches spicy food (Mexican, Thai), sweet and sour food (Chinese), and fat food(Foie Gras. Pâté), and often it can accompany dishes meant for red wine.

Tokay d'Alsace

According to the history, the grape Pinot Gris travelled from Alsace to Hungary in the 14th century. When it was brought back to Alsace in the 16th century, it was planted in Kientzheim under the name "Tokay" (taken from Hungary’s famous wine Tokaji).

For many centuries, Alsatian wine produced from Pinot Gris was called "Tokay d'Alsace".

However, in the 1990's, it was agreed in Europe to remove the name Tokay from non-Hungarian wine, and slowly, the today so famous Alsacian Pinot Gris was developed.

Silvaner d'Alsace

Silvaner (or Sylvaner) is a grape grown primarily in French Alsace and in the Franken region of Germany.

In Germany it is cultivated with the official name Grüner Silvaner. Italian and Swiss Silvaner tends to be lighter and more crispy than French / German Silvaner.

Pinot Blanc d’Alsace

Pinot Blanc from Alsace, is known to be much like Chardonnay as a full body wine with good acidity.

Alsacian Pinot Blanc can show a range of flavors from apple to peach, along with nutty almond and spices depending on oak treatment.

Popular food pairings in Alsace are Omelet and Quiche.

Crémant d’Alsace

Crémant d 'Alsace is a sparkling wine made by the Champagne method (Méthode Champenoise)). Made from several types of grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Riesling), it can be an interesting alternative to French Champagne.

Alsace AOC

Alsatian wines are produced under three different AOCs:

Alsace AOC - White, Rosé, and Red wines
Alsace Grand Cru AOC - White wines from classified vineyards
Crémant d'Alsace AOC - Sparkling wines

Edelzwicker and Gentil

Edelzwicker and Gentil may be used on an Alsatian wine label.

Edelzwicker means that the wine is a mixture of different grapes.

Gentil means the same, but can only be used for AOC wines where the blend has at least 50% Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris or Gewurztraminer, and the rest can be either Sylvaner, Chasselas or Pinot Blanc. Each variety must be vinified separately, and each variety must qualify as an AOC Alsace wine alone.

Vendange Tardive

Vendange Tardive on the label, means that the grapes are harvested late. These wines are sweet like German Ausleese. Only noble root attacked grapes can be used (Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Gewurztraminer), and Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris provide the sweetest varieties.

Sélection de Grains Nobles

Sélection de grains nobles means selected grapes that are attacked by noble rot, like German Beerenauslese.

Route des Vins d'Alsace

In the 1950's the Alsace Wine Route was opened.

Starting as a popular touring rally, it is now the jewel of Alsace.

Route des Vins d'Alsace winds 170 km from the north to the south of Alsace, passing through 70 wine-growing villages, some renowned for being some of the most beautiful villages in the world. like Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Andlau, and Obernai.

The Alsace Wine Route villages organise wine and harvest festivals from April to October, including wine-tastings, folklore, processions, and other entertainment.

2008 Production

Grape	Hectar (approx)
Riesling	3400
Gewürztraminer	2900
Pinot Gris	2400
Auxerrois	2200
Pinot Noir	1500
Sylvaner	1400
Pinot Blanc	1100
Muscat	350
Chardonnay	90
Chasselas	90
Other	70
Total	15500