During the holidays, I helped many people with their sparkling wine selections, and realized very few knew what a cremant was when I offered one to them.  Hopefully, this may help.

Cremant is a term used for France's finest sparkling wines made outside Champagne using the traditional method of sparkling wine-making.  The term was adopted in the late 1980's when the expression methode champenoise was outlawed by the European Union and replaced with methode traditionnelle. A cremant also has to adhere to strict production criteria.  The grape varietals allowed vary from one appellation to another.

French appellation laws require that a cremant must be harvested by hand with yields not exceeding the set amount for their area.  The wines must also be aged for a minimum of one year. 

 In France, there are seven appellations for sparkling wine which include cremant in their name: 

Cremant d'Alsace

Cremant de'Bordeaux

Cremant de'Bourgogne

Cremant de'Die

Cremant de'Jura

Cremant de'Limouix

Cremant de'Loire

Why choose a cremant for your sparkling?  They are excellent sparkling wines and often less expensive than Champagne when you're on a budget!

Marie...Wine Supervisor/North-West Coast