Biodynamically-grown Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir, (and sometimes Pinot Auxerrois) vinified in the méthode champenoise. This is one of the most elegant sparkling wines of France, outside of the finest Champagnes. Ideal apéritif wine, supple and aromatic, as well as an excellent accompaniment to refined fish and shellfish, and soft cheeses. Of course, sparkling wines as elegant as this Crémant d’Alsace are also great wines of celebration.
Regional History
With the crumbling of the Roman Empire near the end of 5th Century AD, the defeated Germanic Tribes began returning to Gaul via trade routes through Alsace. They settled the military camps built by the Romans to protect a vital economic resource: wine.
Thus began a mixing of Gallic, Celtic and Germanic cultures that now characterizes the people (and the wines) of this region. Alsace has changed nationality many times during the last 1600 hundred years: the Franks, Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburgs, and modern Germany.
Such has been the fate of this “Land of Unshed Tears.” The dialect is now so Germanic that when Alsace was liberated from Nazi rule in 1945, the Mayor of Strasbourg posted signs throughout the city reminding Allied troops to ” . . . not forget that you are in a French town, though you may hear a German language.” Wine, however, has remained an important economic resource through all of Alsace’s political upheavals. Currently, it accounts for 10% of all agricultural production. Crémant d’Alsace is the AOC given to Alsace sparkling wines made by the “Méthode Champenoise.”
Regional Foods
Though quite French in style, the regional cuisine is heavily influenced by German culture. Typical Alsace dishes include Choucroute garnié, Lawerknepfle (pork-liver dumplings), white veal sausages, blood sausages, salted pork loin, and Carpes Frites (fried carp). Goose was largely cultivated and eaten by the very large Jewish population, who did not eat pork. Where braised goose exists, so foie gras is never far behind. Crémant d’Alsace is an excellent cocktail. It is also a wonderful match to soft cheeses like Brie de Meaux & Camembert. Sparkling wines such as this can also compliment white fish dishes, finished with a dash of cream and chives.
© 2007 Moore Brothers Wine Company