Crémant or Champagne: what you pay extra for
Crémant is a sparkling wine with its second fermentation in the bottle, made in France outside Champagne, including Alsace, Burgundy and the Loire Valley, and also in Luxembourg. The method is the same as for Champagne, but the rules require shorter ageing on the lees (at least 9 months against 15) and allow slightly more juice to be pressed from the same quantity of grapes. The higher price of Champagne pays for these differences and for the name of Champagne itself.
What is crémant
Crémant (pronounced kray-mon) is a French (or Luxembourg) sparkling wine from outside Champagne, made by the traditional method according to rules that EU law reserves for this name.
The word crémant does not denote a single region but a category. It always appears together with the name of the place the wine comes from: Crémant d'Alsace, Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Loire and so on. Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/33 reserves this name exclusively for white and rosé sparkling wines with a protected designation of origin that meet several conditions at once.
- The grapes are harvested by hand.
- The must comes from pressing whole or destemmed bunches, and no more than 102 litres of must may be obtained from 160 kg of grapes.
- The sulphur dioxide content may not exceed 150 mg/l, and the sugar content 50 g/l.
- The bubbles form in a second fermentation in the bottle, the wine stays on its lees for at least 9 months without interruption within the same business, and the sediment is removed by disgorgement.
Only owners of trade marks containing the word “Crémant” registered before 1 March 1986 are exempt from the hand-harvesting requirement and from the obligation to give the name of the region next to the word crémant.
Is crémant Champagne?
No. Crémant is made by the same method, but outside Champagne, so it cannot be called Champagne.
Champagne is wine from the Champagne appellation, from vineyards in 319 villages in north-eastern France. Crémant comes from other regions, with different grape varieties, different soils and different rules. In the shop you will recognise it by the word Crémant and the name of the region on the label. Champagne is recognised the same way, by its label; we write about this in the guide real Champagne.
Eight French crémants and Luxembourg
There are eight crémant appellations in France. The three largest, Alsace, Loire and Bourgogne, together account for about four fifths of sales.
| Apelacja | Gdzie | Share of sales 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Crémant d'Alsace | Alsacja, wschód Francji | 33.1% (more than 40 million bottles) |
| Crémant de Loire | dolina Loary | 25,4% |
| Crémant de Bourgogne | Burgundia | 21% |
| Crémant de Bordeaux, de Die, du Jura, de Limoux, de Savoie | Bordeaux, dolina Rodanu, Jura, Langwedocja, Sabaudia | together about 20% |
| Crémant de Luxembourg | Luxembourg (since 1991) | outside French statistics |
According to the federation of crémant producers cited by Meininger's magazine, 122.9 million bottles were sold in 2025, 7.3% more than a year earlier (114.5 million) and the most ever. In the same year Champagne shipped 266.1 million bottles. Each appellation has its own list of permitted grape varieties, so crémants from Alsace, Burgundy and the Loire taste different.
Crémant vs Champagne: differences in the rules
Both wines are made from hand-picked grapes and ferment in the bottle, but Champagne must age for longer and yields less juice from the same quantity of grapes.
| Przepis | Crémant | Champagne |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest | by hand | by hand, whole bunches |
| Must yield from the grapes | at most 100 l from 150 kg (about 67 l from 100 kg) | at most 102 l from 160 kg (about 64 l from 100 kg) |
| Druga fermentacja | in the bottle | in the bottle |
| Minimum on the lees | 9 months | 15 months, vintage 36 months |
| Kolor | white or rosé | white or rosé |
| Sugar | at most 50 g/l | the full EU scale, from Brut Nature (pronounced broot na-TEWR) to Doux |
The difference in pressing yield is small: in Champagne a few litres less juice may be pressed from the same quantity of grapes, and the rules require gentle, gradual pressing. Time matters more. Non-vintage Champagne spends at least 15 months in the cellar, and according to the Comité Champagne usually two to three years. During that time the breaking-down yeast releases compounds into the wine that give rise to mature aromas and a fuller texture.
What you pay extra for when you buy Champagne
For longer ageing, for the limited area of Champagne and for a name known all over the world.
The vineyards of Champagne cover about 34,200 ha and cannot expand at will, and yields are set every year before the harvest. Then there is time: every bottle takes up space in the cellar for at least 15 months, not 9. Crémant is a good choice when you are looking for a traditional-method sparkling wine at a lower price. Champagne is the choice when long ageing, the style of a particular house or the name on the label matters, for example for a gift.
Champagne for someone who drinks crémant
If you like crémant, we suggest starting with Champagne from a grower or a cooperative, because such wine usually comes from one particular area.
Grande Réserve is made by the de Taisne family from Les Riceys (pronounced lay ree-say), the southernmost village in Champagne, right by the border with Burgundy; the family grows mainly Pinot Noir there on Jurassic marl. Brut Tradition comes from H. Blin (pronounced ash blan), a cooperative from Vincelles in the Marne Valley, where Meunier predominates. Jean de La Fontaine (pronounced zhon de la fon-ten) Brut is a brand of the family house Baron Albert from Charly-sur-Marne, run by three sisters.
We describe all three, alongside bottles from the great houses, in the ranking Champagne under 250 zł.
