As the tempo of the holiday season accelerates, the search for the wine of the occasion intensifies. You want something festive, something special, something sparkling. Of course, you can always turn to Champagne; it will be perfect, but also expensive. Isn’t there something to capture the joyous bucolic bubbliness of the season without breaking the budget?
While good, affordable sparkling wine is now made around the world (see Bayview Winter 2022) the finest still come from France, the very home of Champagne itself. The best of these perfectly acceptable substitute sparklers all go by the name Crémant, plus the name of the region where they are made. They must be produced using the time-honoured traditional process developed some four hundred years ago by the blind monk, Dom Perignon and perfected in the 19th century by the Widow Cliquot (see Bayview Winter 2019).
Normally, alternatives to Champagne should carry the words “Méthode Traditionnelle” – Traditional Method – on the label, as your assurance that the wine is made by the same labour-intensive process used in Champagne, where the wine undergoes its second fermentation in its bottle, and is clarified through the process of riddling and re-corking. With Crémant wines, that requirement is built into their designation, so those words may or may not appear on the label.
Crémant de Bourgogne leads the way. Made from the same grape varieties, grown in very similar soils over chalky limestone bedrock, a good Crémant de Bourgogne can be almost indistinguishable from true Champagne. Crisp and racy, with an effervescent stream of tiny bubbles, this is the best value you will find in a classy, festive sparkling wine. With over 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of vineyards in production, and more than 23,000,000 bottles produced annually, you know you will be able to find some at your local LCBO when you need it.
Crémant de la Loire is rising rapidly in popularity. Made all along the Loire River, across a multitude of wine regions, Crémant de la Loire can vary widely in style and quality, and may not always taste anything like Champagne.
This is a mixed blessing, for if what you are looking for is a Champagne substitute, you want it to taste as close to Champagne as possible. But if you
are a wine lover looking for a new experience, then the individuality of these Crémant wines from the Loire will fascinate you. Perhaps the finest come from the region of Savennières, made from Chenin blanc grapes. Dry and savoury, with their own unique forceful character, these gems are rarely seen in our marketplace; keep a keen eye out for them.
Crémant d’Alsace gives a different take on affordable bubbly. Made from their own suite of premium grapes (see Bayview Spring 2025), these versions of Crémant deliver rich, tantalizing, opulent fruit flavours.
Quality is high, and the experience quite different from Champagne. Everyone will notice the difference, and most will quite enjoy it. Crémant d’Alsace is frequently available at our local LCBO stores.
There are more: Crémant de Limoux from the Rhone Valley has a long history under the name Blanquette de Limoux, made from a variety of local indigenous grapes. Significantly upgraded since the establishment of the quality rules for Crémant, it now includes a high proportion of Chardonnay, bringing it more in line with international tastes. Crémant de Bordeaux is usually value priced, although I find it rarely as thrilling as its confrères. Crémant de Jura comes from eastern France, near the border with Switzerland and is of consistently high quality, making it an exceptionally fine substitute for Champagne – if only you could find it!
© Paul Inksetter 2025
