The story of Crémant d’Alsace begins in 1900 with Julien Dopff, a young man with an enterprising spirit. At the age of 18, Dopff, from a family of Alsatian winegrowers since 1574, attended the Universal Exhibition of Paris where he discovered the méthode champenoise, a way of making sparkling wine by a second fermentation inside the bottle.

“It was the starting point of a very big adventure,” says Marlène Dopff, wife of Etienne-Arnaud Dopff, Julian’s great grandson, and co-owners of Dopff au Moulin winery. “He should have come back to Alsace, but he decided to go to Champagne instead. He went to a big estate called Champagne Mercier and stayed for two years until his parents needed his help back in Alsace. Julien agreed to return, but under one condition—that he could make sparkling wine.”

**Marlène and Etienne-Arnaud Dopff,** *photo courtesy of Dopff au moulin*

When Julien returned to Alsace, he eagerly got to work. Eventually, he made the region’s first sparkling wine using the same techniques as in Champagne but using Alsace varieties like Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, instead of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

“Of course Julian didn’t do the job alone,” says Dopff. “He worked with other wine estates in Alsace to find the right grape varieties in order to make the best sparkling wine possible. Thanks to Julian our winery now produces about 10 different Crémants.”

What is Crémant?

Crémant is a traditional method sparkling wine made outside of Champagne (méthode champenoise can now only refer to the wines of Champagne). There are eight French regions where crémant is made, from Alsace in the north to Limoux in the south. In between they are produced in Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Loire, Savoie, Jura and Die in the Rhône Valley.

Crémant d'Alsace, the appellation for white and rose sparkling wines of Alsace, was created in 1976, just four years after Julien Dopff’s death. Today, it is the most popular sparkling wine in France outside of Champagne.

The appellation accounts for about 25% of the region's wine production and offers many excellent and affordable styles, from extra-brut (the driest) to brut (dry) and demi-sec (slightly sweet).

**The hills of Alsace.** *Photo: Dirler-Cadé.*

Signature Blends

Like Champagne, the laws concerning the production of crémant are very strict, and include which grape varieties are allowed. White Crémant d’Alsace is typically made mostly from Pinot Blanc, a grape that brings delicacy, freshness and, as Marlène Dopff says, “a natural sparkle” to the wines.

However, other varieties are allowed, including Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the percentage of each grape variety used is not a requirement, except for rosé which must be 100% Pinot Noir.

And so, depending on the desired flavor, innovative Alsace winemakers can come up with their own brut-style blend to create a signature crémant.

Melanie Pfister, 8th generation at Domaine Pfister, produces a white crémant that she labels blanc de blancs, using mostly Chardonnay with smaller amounts of Pinot Blanc and Auxerois.

“There are a few other producers who make crémants that are mostly Chardonnay,” she says, “but it’s not the traditional way. My father planted Chardonnay plots quite early and we replanted another one a few years ago. Our vineyards are in the top northern part of Alsace on limestone soils and Chardonnay and limestone make a good match. The combination brings a lot of finesse to the crémant.”

Ludivine Dirler, co-owner of Dirler-Cadé winery with her husband Jean, also steers away from tradition when it comes to grape varieties, using Pinot Gris as the base instead of Pinot Blanc.

“Pinot Gris gives more smoky aromas on the nose as well as more body,” says Dirler. “We like it in the blend with Auxerrois, which has less acidity, because we feel it is more harmonious. We are on sandstone terroir so the wines are not so powerful, they are more elegant in style.”

**Dirler-Cade’s Sandstone soils.** *Photo: Dirler-Cadé.*

On Aging

Another strict regulation for the production of Crémant d’Alsace is a minimum nine months aging on the lees, the dead yeast cells leftover from the fermentation process. But most quality-minded producers will extend this maturation period, in order to add finesse, flavor and character to the wines.

Dopff says that they make very structured crémants with fine bubbles that age for two years. “We have a temperature-controlled cellar,” she says, “and the crémants age very quietly and slowly for two years, with some of them aging for 36 months. The extra aging gives more structure and complexity to the wine. The bubbles will be smoother and not as aggressive.”

All the producers I spoke with are in the same camp, leaving their wines to rest on the lees for as long as possible to increase the complexity, making them better partners with food. Pfister says that the lees add authenticity and that those aged only nine months are more simple styles.

Why is Crémant d’Alsace so Darn Tasty?

In Alsace, you can discover many types of wine with extraordinary elegance that are defined by their minerality, freshness and strong sense of place. To understand what makes the sparkling wines of Alsace so special, you have to first consider the region’s geology.

No other wine producing area in the world, besides Burgundy, has as many types of terroir as Alsace, beginning with the wide array of ancient soils. Limestone, granite, clay, schist, gravel, loess, sandstone, volcanic—in Alsace you will find it all. This incredible diversity enables wine producers to blend grapes from multiple soils (as well as from various elevations and exposures) to create fresh and finessed wines that speak of where they come from.

**In the vineyards with Melanie Pfister.**

“We are able to make ‘crémant de terroir’ because we have different types of soils,” says Pfister. “The resulting diversity of grapes brings a bit more fruit and complexity to the wines. It’s obvious that a crémant from granite is very different than one from limestone. And then of course there are many types of crémants, which is impressive.”

Ludivine Dirler, who speaks for the “vignerons independent,” (the small wine growers), points out that Alsace’s sparkling wines are impressive not only for the area’s geology, ie., the different types of terroir, but also due to its geography, which concerns the interactions between the environment and the people. In her case, it is the synergy created between healthy vineyards and the use of biodynamic viticultural methods.

“If you respect your terroir you’ll have much more taste and energy in your wines and create beautiful terroir wines,” she says. “For me, it’s so important to cultivate biodynamically because you have more taste in the wines; more subtlety and better harmony. The wines are more spiritual.”

And Dirler’s point of view is shared with many of her neighbors. Alsace is regarded as one of the most ecologically committed regions in the world with nearly 25% (and growing) of its wineries certified organic, several of which are also certified in biodynamics, a holistic system of farming that takes into account the lunar calendar (for more information, see my Grape Collective article, Moonstruck in Alsace: How Biodynamic Winemakers are Connecting the Dots Between Soil and Sky). Additionally, there are many other non-certified growers who practice chemical-free viticulture.

**Photo taken at harvest**: *Dopff au Moulin.*

The ripeness of the grapes is another important factor in the style and taste of crémant from Alsace. Despite being almost as far north as Champagne, Alsace is a much drier, sunnier region thanks to the Vosges Mountains that shelter the region from rainy, harsh weather. This results in riper grapes and wines that are dry, yet round and slightly creamy.

“In Alsace, we normally pick ripe grapes and they don’t show any green aspect as in some Champagnes,” says Pfister.

Jean-Christophe Bott of Domaine Bott-Geyl, also looks for ripeness, especially in the grapes’ skins, to make terroir-driven, harmonious wines. “I believe the information of the terroir is located in the skin,” he says, “and when the skin is very ripe and you press it, you get the singularity and personality of each terroir.”

Circling Back 120-plus Years

Julien Dopff surely knew he was on to something! And wine lovers worldwide are all the better for it. “He is considered the pioneer of Crémant d’Alsace,” says Dopff. “He was very clever and thanks to him, and people like him, we have sparkling wine in Alsace.”

Crémant d’Alsace Producers to Look For

In addition to Dopff, Mélanie Pfister, Dirler-Cadé and Bott-Geyl, there are many other producers of terrific Crémant d’Alsace, including Pierre Sparr, Mittnacht Frères, Barmès-Buecher, Jean-Baptiste Adam, and Pierre Frick.