Happy Birthday Crémant d’Alsace
8th September 2016
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A fortieth birthday is important and certainly worth celebrating. This is what the makers of Crémant d’Alsace intend to do.
On 24th August 1976 Crémant d’Alsace got official recognition with the creation of an AOC. The story, though, dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century and was inspired by how Champagne is made.
Julien Dopff was the pioneer. His grandson at Dopff au Moulin in Riquewihr decided to create a special Crémant to honour his memory and also celebrate the the date of the creation of the AOC. It’s called Hommage and appropriately only 824 bottles were made.
There’s another double celebration at Wolfberger in Eguisheim. They were the first to experiment and make their own Crémants in the 1970s. Wolfberger was founded in 1976. Their special Crémant is called Célébration 1976 and comes in a distinctive golden bottle.
These are just two examples of the many special Crémants made by producers to mark the occasion.
Arthur Metz in Marlenheim has decided to hold a series of tastings and food pairings between 13th September and 18th September. The Syndicat des Producteurs de Crémant d’Alsace will be holding a gala on 4th November.
A fortieth birthday is a time to look back at the milestones along the road. The most important is that Crémant d’Alsace is now the second sparkling wine drunk in France after Champagne. All the figures agree that this youngster is destined for an even brighter future both nationally and internationally. Happy birthday Crémant d’Alsace!
Jon Catt
Tour guide for the Champagne region who lives in Troyes. Specialising in family run Champagne house visits in the Aube and the Marne plus wine tours in the Yonne and Côte d'Or.