How to get Champagne quality at Prosecco prices
My mum had just two wishes for her 80th birthday bash: that no one should pay, and that Champagne be served throughout. ‘It’s not a party otherwise,’ she said.
I agreed. But trying to square the venue’s Champagne list with my lemonade budget sent me into a doom spiral. Then my stepfather and I had a spat about why I would rather serve lemonade than be reduced to the sickly, one-dimensional Prosecco at the bottom of the list.
But what’s this? A Crémant de Bourgogne – sparkling wine from Burgundy (geographically next door to Champagne). It came in at just five pounds more than the Prosecco, but 20 quid less than the cheapest Champagne. Crémant! We would serve Crémant!
The term describes a sparkling wine made by the same labour-intensive bottle-fermentation method as Champagne but outside the Champagne region. Only eight wine-making regions in France (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Die, Jura, Limoux, Loire, Savoie and Alsace) are permitted to use the term, as is one in Luxembourg.
‘The French have always said, “It is better to drink good Crémant than bad Champagne”,’ says Tara Ozols, head sommelier at 1 Hotel Mayfair’s Dovetale restaurant. ‘But in the UK a lot of people had this idea that it’s not premium because it’s not Champagne, which is a shame because there are some real bangers.’
We seem to be catching on at last.
‘Crémant sales are rising as more of us are getting snobby about prosecco’
Sales in the UK have been growing for over a decade and Crémant is everywhere from Ozol’s fancy Mayfair wine list to our supermarket shelves. A few months back, Waitrose reported that sales had overtaken those of its Spanish rival Cava – up 51 per cent compared with the same period last year. Sainsbury’s says Crémant and English sparkling wines are its big expansion areas, while Matt Downes, Tesco buying manager for France, Champagne and sparkling wine, confirms Crémant ‘is the fastest-growing sparkling wine category’.
Price is a big part of the appeal. Wine consultant Ruth Spivey says, ‘My local pub doesn’t have a Champagne any more, instead it has a Crémant – and it sells like hot cakes at £40 a bottle.’ At The Wine Society (a cooperative with 180,000 members), head of buying Pierre Mansour says it has recently dropped its Crémant prices as UK tax and duty on sparkling wines has gone down to protect our own UK offerings.
Another driver behind the rise of Crémant is that more of us are getting snobby about Prosecco, and I’ll admit that includes me.
I would rather put Prosecco in a cocktail with some Campari than drink it solo. I know other people just enjoy the fizz experience, but for me, it’s a mixer.
So, what exactly is a Crémant? Ironically, the word originates from Champagne, where it was used to describe wines that weren’t quite as bubbly as Champagne. In the 1980s, the Champagne makers lobbied to stop other winemakers from using the expression ‘méthode Champenoise’ to describe wines made in the same way as their very protected and valuable brand.
In a sort of trade-off, in 1994 the word ‘Crémant’ was offered to describe France’s finest bubbly from the eight regions, and all of this was laid down in grave-sounding EU amendments.
Not all French sparkling wines are Crémants, but all Crémants are sparkling. Each region’s fizz is subject to specific rules to qualify as appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOCs), which indicates that a product has a certain level of craftsmanship and a distinct local character. These sparkling wines must be made from the juice of whole bunches of hand-harvested grapes, and only the juice from the first pressing can be used.
Only certain grapes are allowed in each region, usually ones that have a long history there and that work well with its terroir (that opaque wine word that means an area’s soil, flora, fauna and climate).
Crémant, like Champagne, must undergo a second fermentation (usually for nine months – less than Champagne) in its bottle ‘on lees’ (meaning in contact with dead yeast cells). Alexandra Price is wine buyer for the Crispin group of restaurants, bars and event caterers.
She observes, ‘We have more Crémant and sparkling wine than Champagne on our lists now. At one end, an entry-level Crémant is a step up from Prosecco; at the other end are some of the Crémants that are made in the exact same way as the top grand cru Champagnes, but instead of costing several hundred pounds they come in at under £100.’
There has been, says Price, a noticeable rise in willingness to choose something that isn’t Champagne. ‘We’re going to see a lot more Crémants in supermarkets and on restaurant lists. My hunch is that this British love affair has only just begun.’
Crème of the crémants
Kate Spicer tastes bottles from The Wine Society for six of the eight crémant regions, plus two from the high street.
Crémant de Die Brut, Poulet & fils NV (12%), £11.31, thewinesociety.com
From an appellation in the Rhône, this Clairette-rich blend is an absolute showstopper: yeasty and biscuity.
Crémant de Limoux Cuvée éugénie 2021, Antech (12%), £14.50, thewinesociety.com
From Limoux, which, according to wine lore, made fizz before Champagne. Fresh, delicate and Chardonnay-led.
Crémant de Loire 2021, Gratien & Meyer (12.5%), £14.50, thewinesociety.com.
With grapes including Chenin Blanc and the Loire’s red Grolleau, this is substantial – almost meaty, like a red wine.
Crémant de Savoie Brut Zero NV, Jean-François Quénard (12.5%), £20.81, thewinesociety.com.
Made with local Jacquère plus Pinot Noir. Brut zéro means all sugar is turned to alcohol. Fruit-cakey.
Crémant d’Alsace Cuvée Julien NV, Dopff au Moulin (12%), £14.31, thewinesociety.com.
Using local grapes Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, this is easy drinking, if perhaps a tad dull.
Crémant du Jura Brut zéro NV, Domaine de Montbourgeau (12%), £17.31, thewinesociety.com.
Made with Chardonnay, a Champagne grape. The region to watch, say sommeliers.
Crémant De Bordeaux Blanc De Noirs NV, Louis Vallon (12%), £14.75, Sainsbury’s.
Recommended by a friend, who buys a case at Christmas. A weighty blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Crémant de Bourgogne Brut (12%), £13.50, Sainsbury’s.
A Burgundian offering and the only real disappointment. It didn’t feel well made. Some of the cheaper ones were tastier.
Digital artwork: @getmarktodoit
