Dusseldorf, Germany - Sparkling wines produced in France outside the Champagne region are known as cremants.
Cremant wines are popular aperitif drinks and are commonly made in the Loire Valley. But cremant wines are not just great at stimulating the appetite before a meal; they also make very fine accompaniments to main meals such as fish terrine, Asian dishes and desserts.
“When a French person has a drink, their mind is already moving on to the next meal. That also applies when drinking a Cremant de Loire,” explains sommelier Christine Balais.
French-born Balais lives in Cologne in Germany and presented a number of cremant wines from the Anjou, Saumur and Touraine regions of the Loire at this year's recent ProWein trade fair in Dusseldorf.
After the Champagne region, the Loire Valley produces the most sparking wine in France.
A sparkling wine should always be chilled to 5 or 6 degrees Celsius before serving so it reaches seven or eight degrees in the glass, according to Balais.
The sommelier says a white Cremant de Loire goes well with roasted meat such as roast veal with mushroom-cream sauce. Ideally the sauce itself should be made with cremant as an ingredient. Other good accompaniments for a cremant are pate, rillettes or a mature goat's cheese.
Balais also recommends trying freshwater fish from the Loire River with cremant.
Because cremant wines have a lot of flavour, they are suitable for drinking with Asian cuisine. “You can have a lot of fun trying things out,” says Balais. Sorbets, blue cheese or fruit tarts with apricot, apple or mirabelle plums are good dessert choices for sparkling wine.
Although the less versed might find a mouthful of champagne indistinguishable from a cremant, strict rules prevent sparkling wines made outside the Champagne region from being designated as champagne.
The name Cremant de Loire is itself protected. A sparkling wine in this category must be produced in the narrow strip of land between the towns of Lire and Cheverny, 250 kilometres along the Loire River. Sparkling wine has been made here since the 18th century.
Cremant wines are blended together from three main grape varieties: Balais says chenin blanc is often mixed with the black berries of the cabernet franc. Chardonnay is the third grape variety used to produce cremant.
“Occasionally there are cremant wines made from 100-percent chardonnay,” says Balais. There are also rose cremants made entirely from cabernet franc.
Cremant wines must fulfil strict criteria if they are to carry the name. Rules define how close vine plants may grow together, the maximum volume of wine that may be produced per hectare and require that grapes always be harvested by hand.
No more than 25 kilograms of grapes may be gathered in a container at any one time, “to prevent the grapes from being damaged,” says Balais.
The typical flavour of Loire sparkling wines is a mixture of peach, apple, pear, mirabelle or quince. - Sapa-dpa