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How to choose a crémant?

A small everyday victory, a big celebration or simply a craving for bubbles – there is always a good moment to open a sparkling wine. But between extra‑brut, brut, demi‑sec; white, rosé, blanc de blancs or blanc de noirs… choosing the right Crémant can quickly feel like a puzzle.

To help you navigate styles, colours, dosages and food pairings, here are the essential markers.
Goal: find the Crémant that truly suits you, with confidence.

Understanding the two colours of crémant

In the Crémant de Bordeaux family, two shades rule:

White: 60% of production
Rosé: 40%

But which one should you choose, depending on the menu, the mood or simply what you feel like drinking?r selon votre menu, l’ambiance ou simplement l’envie du moment ?

DID YOU KNOW?

The AOC Crémant de Bordeaux is relatively young (1990), but the method behind it goes back to the 19th century, when Bordeaux cellars first mastered secondary fermentation in bottle.

Since then, the fundamentals have remained the same:

exclusively hand‑picked harvests
first fermentation in tank
second fermentation in bottle
extended ageing: 36 to 84 months to refine every aromatic nuance

This meticulous savoir‑faire gives rise to fine, fresh, delicate bubbles, ready to drink on release or to keep for up to five years. Serve between 7 and 11 °C, on its own or in cocktails – such as during the Bordeaux Tonic workshop.
Elegant in its simplicity, a real playground for creativity, and a price‑quality ratio that explains the growing success of Crémant over the past ten years.x qui explique le succès grandissant des Crémants depuis dix ans.

The craft behind Bordeaux sparkling wines

Each production method shapes a sparkling wine’s personality: the feel of the bubbles, aromatic intensity, price, length on the palate.

For Crémant de Bordeaux, the traditional method imprints a precise, structured and recognisable style.

Knowing how it is made is a real advantage when choosing your bubbles: you understand the wine, its tension, its finesse… and its price.

Crémant blanc – freshness from aperitif to dessert

In Bordeaux, all grape varieties can be used to make Crémant blanc – both black and white cépages.

Possible black grapes:
Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot

White grapes:
Muscadelle, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and more occasionally Colombard, Merlot Blanc or Ugni Blanc

No fewer than 211 growers craft Crémant blanc across a wide mosaic of terroirs.

In the glass, this diversity translates into:

fine bubbles
bright, clean freshness
expressive aromatics: citrus, acacia blossom, hazelnut, toasted bread

Food pairings

Aperitif: tapas, small bites, canapés
Starters: seafood, oysters at festive times
Main courses: poultry and white meats
Desserts: red‑fruit‑based recipes

Variations

Blanc de noirs: broader, rounder → ideal with warm starters or stuffed poultrys vif, plus minéral → parfait pour crustacés et poissons.

Blanc de blancs: more zesty, more mineral → perfect with shellfish and fish

Crémant rosé – fruit‑drivenfrom first glass to last

Crémant rosé comes in a wide palette of colours: from pale pink to bright fuchsia, with salmon highlights in between. This diversity reflects both terroir and choices in maceration.

DID YOU KNOW?

Within the AOC Crémant de Bordeaux rosé, 113 winegrowers craft cuvées made exclusively from black grapes.

The colour comes from more or less extended skin contact between the juice and the dark grape skins.

In the glass: lively bubbles, vibrant colour.
On the nose and palate: crunchy red fruits – redcurrant, strawberry, raspberry.

Food pairings

perfect as an aperitif (Valentine’s Day, festive moments)
excellent with shellfish or salmon
a fine match for fresh or soft‑rind cheeses
ideal with red‑fruit or chocolate desserts

Finding the right dosage for your dish

Dosage is one of the most important markers when choosing a Crémant.

After the second fermentation, the deposit of lees is expelled and replaced with a liqueur de dosage – a blend of wine and sugar.

The amount of sugar added determines the style:

Crémant brut

The most common style. Lightly dosed, very versatile:

excellent as an aperitif
with seafood, poultry
and yellow‑fruit desserts

Extra‑brut

Even less sugar.
This style reveals the wine in all its precision, tension and sense of place.
Perfect pairing: delicate dishes such as Saint‑Jacques carpaccio.

Sec, demi‑sec, doux

Sweeter profiles.
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