Crémant d'Alsace AOC

Crémant d'Alsace is an "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée" (AOC) for sparkling wines made in the Alsace wine region of France. It is made using the traditional method (bottle fermentation), mostly from Pinot Blanc grapes, but it may also contain Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. (Chardonnay may not be used in the two Alsace appellations for still wines.) Rosé Crémant d'Alsace is made exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes. It was granted AOC status on August 24, 1976.

Crémant d'Alsace is a significant part of the wine production in Alsace, with 18% of the region's vineyards used for this purpose. [ [http://www.civa.fr CIVA website] , read on September 9, 2007] 223 942 hectoliter of Crémant d'Alsace, approximately 30 million bottles, were produced in 2006. [ [http://www.vinsalsace.com CIVA English-language press announcement on March 30, 2007: Alsace wines 2006: a vintage of contrasts] ]

The history of sparkling wine production in Alsace is said to go back to around the year 1900, when Julien Dopff is said to have applied the "champagne method" to his own Alsatian wines with satisfactory results. [ [http://www.winemonthclub.com/newsletters/vol9no3.htm The International Wine of the Month Club Newsletter, Vol. 9 No. 3] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.vinsalsace.com/ The Official Alsace wines home page]

ee also

*Alsace wine
*Alsace AOC
*Alsace Grand Cru AOC
*Champagne Riots
*French wine