Is the champagne bubble popping？ Sparkling wines offer alternative • FRANCE 24 English

With the end of the year holidays fast approaching, many French people are getting ready to celebrate with bubbles. France is famous, of course, for its champagne, but there are many different kinds of sparkling wines as well, including things like Prosecco, Cava or France's very own Cremant. We're going to talk about Cremant a bit more with my guest, Emmanuel Gallis. Emmanuel, welcome. You're the head of sales and marketing for the Cave de Turquheim that makes Cremant. Let's start with the basics. What is a Cremant and how is it different from champagne? Cremant is produced with the same method as champagne. This means two fermentations, one as a still wine and the second one in the bottle. So it's exactly the same method after we are using a different grape variety. But it's also a question of time, correct? Cremant doesn't sit perhaps as long as champagne does. Yes, in champagne, I think it's at least 15 months. In Cremant Alsace, it's 12 months at least. And where does what's the history of Cremant? Where does it come from and where does the word Cremant come from? Cremant started in Alsace in the 70s. It was launched by a famous Alsacian producer called Dopf and he decided that Alsace could be able to do a nice sparkling as nice as nice as a champagne. And then that's how everything started. So tell us a bit more about the rise in popularity of Cremant. How do you explain it? I think, you know, it's quite it becoming more popular to to drink some sparkling. It's not anymore reserved for big feasts like big anniversary. No, just meeting friends or having a glass in a pub. And then you take a sparkling. And that's why no more Cremant drunk as maybe 20 years ago. Not only Cremant, but also other sparkling wines. Well, there is one key difference, of course, and that is the price. Cremant is a lot less expensive than champagne. Why is that? It's a political question, I would say. The champagne have always been associated with luxury a little bit. It's not the fact for Cremant. More price of the grape is different. And then it's a yeah, it's a question of strategy. Let's say. And what about the taste? Is it more luxurious? Cremant are more popular, even if it's not the cheapest sparkling at all. But it's in the middle range of sparkling. And what for you about the taste? Is it very different? Can you tell the difference between a Cremant and a champagne? It depends what we use for for grape variety. If we use Chardonnay, we are allowed to use Chardonnay in Alsace and have a long aging. The taste will be quite similar. If we use Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris, then they will be more fruity than a traditional champagne, let's say. Emmanuel, earlier you were mentioning the Cremant d'Alsace where it started. But since then, there are other regions who started making Cremants. Tell us a bit about those regions and how they compare. And the Cremant d'Alsace is far away the most Cremant sold. So Cremant d'Alsace represents 36% of the Cremant market. After you, you will probably know the Loire Cremant. Then they are representing 20, 20 percent. And then, of course, the Burgundy. Probably you have also heard about Burgundy Cremant. And the newcomers in France are the Cremant de Loire. They represent around 10% of the bottles sold. And each of these Cremant also have different types. I mean, you can have white, you can have rosé, organic. I mean, tell us a bit about that. Yes, because because it depends of the grape variety we are using. If you go to Loire, you will have Sauvignon used. The same in Bordeaux. If you go to Burgundy, it will be Chardonnay. So it depends of the region where you are. They have all their quality and their particularity. And after, let's say they are all good in the middle range. It depends what the consumer is looking for. If they look for more acidity, more fruit or whatever. I think you everybody can find a Cremant that you would like. We were talking earlier about other countries have other sparkling wines. Italy has Prosecco, Spain has Cava. How does the French Cremant compare to those? What sets it apart? Prosecco is a big amount of the sparkling bottles sold. You know that, for example, Prosecco is known for cocktails like Spritz or Aperol Spritz or other cocktails. That's not really the fact for Cremant. Cremant is more drunk on itself, just either with food or just with friends. So Prosecco is far away before all the Cremant. And it's not exactly the same method. Prosecco is not a second fermentation as all the Cremant in the bottle, but people are injecting carbon dioxide in a still wine. So it's not it's not to compare. It's very different. And you mentioned food. If you were to pair Cremant with food, what pairs the best? I like it. Of course, aperitif is the first way of consuming Cremant. But you can have Cremant with fish, with poultry or even if you take a demi-sec Cremant with dessert. We have also Rosé, Cremant Rosé made with Pinot Noir. They are more fruity. They go with red fruit, for example. So it's it can be tasted all over the meal. And Manu Ghelis, thank you so much for telling us all about France's Cremant, which truly is delicious. I do have to remind everyone, though, that the abuse of alcohol, of course, can be dangerous for your health. So please drink safely and responsibly and in moderation. And Manu Ghelis, thanks so much. Thanks to all of you for watching France 24. Stay with us. We're going to take a quick break. I'll be back in a few minutes with more.