NAMES

The AOC Crémant d'Alsace crown sparkling wines of Alsace, lively and delicate, drawn by a second fermentation, mostly from Pinot Blanc, but also Pinot Gris, Pinot Black, Riesling or Chardonnay. These varieties are usually harvested at the beginning of the opening of the harvesting, timing where the grape supply for winemaking, the best of its balance and harmony finer.

At the beginning of last century, several wineries Alsatian sparkling wines Champagne method. This tradition, less lively in the first half of the twentieth century, was maintained until the recognition of the AOC Crémant d'Alsace, by the decree of August 24, 1976. The decree gave the House of Alsace wines in the new framework necessary to develop a quality sparkling wine according to requirements comparable to those applied by the professionals themselves Champagne. Today more than 500 developers gathered in the Union of Producers of Crémant d'Alsace.

Thanks to his original personality and impeccable quality, Crémant d'Alsace has become the first sparkling wine AOC consumed at home in France. He also won considerable success abroad. It currently represents 22% of the total wine production in Alsace.

Strict regulations

• Wines for the development of Crémant d'Alsace can only come from white or red grapes harvested in the production area of Alsace wines defined under the ordinance of November 2, 1945.

• The harvest date of the AOC Crémant d'Alsace is determined by the Committee of Experts on Regional Wines of Alsace. This date usually several days before the harvest date of the Alsace appellation.

• The wine growers are required to take before harvest, a prior declaration to the Town Hall which identifies the land to the production of Crémant d'Alsace. Each lot of grapes must have a suitable maturity, the alcoholic strength is 8 5.

• The maximum annual yield of the AOC Crémant d'Alsace in 2007 was 80 hl / ha plus 2.5% PLC (Ceiling Limit Rank = reserve volume set annually by the INAO).

• Return to the press must be 150 kg per 100 liters of wort for the development of Crémant d'Alsace, with the obligation to separate the wines' ends of pressings.

• The grapes must be harvested by hand and transported in containers less than 100 kg and placed whole in the press.

• The facilities for receiving and pressing the grapes must be specially approved by the INAO.

• The material must be pressed without auger and chains.

• Keeping a log press is required.

• Crémant d'Alsace should be drafted by a second fermentation in bottles only in Alsace. The corresponding draw may take place before 1 January of the year following the harvest. The shelf life of bottled on the lees shall not be less than 9 months.

• Wines claimed in AOC Crémant d'Alsace are subject to analytical and organoleptic controls established by law in naming.

The market for AOC Crémant d'Alsace

With a volume of less than 1 million bottles until 1979, the production of Crémant d'Alsace has experienced spectacular growth since 1980, responding to a demand for increasingly strong in France as in several foreign markets. Currently, Cremant d'Alsace represents an average annual production of about 29 million bottles, representing 19% of all of Alsatian wines.

The explosion of marketing Cremant d'Alsace explains its increasing share in the production of wines of Alsace. Sales have indeed been 13 times in 25 years: $ 2.2 million bottles in 1982 to 28 million collars in 2007.

In France, Cremant d'Alsace is the undisputed leader of AOC sparkling, with a market share of 36.9% by volume before the Clairette de Die (15.5%), Saumur (10%) and the Blanquette de Limoux ( 4.8%). Much of Crémant d'Alsace is consumed in the large eastern France (34%) and Northern (23%), western (18%) and suburbs (10%).

If the mainland market remains large majority (83%), export of Crémant d'Alsace has developed in Europe and the United States.

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