Crémant de Luxembourg facts for kids
Crémant de Luxembourg is a special kind of sparkling wine from Luxembourg. It comes from the Moselle region, which is famous for its vineyards. This wine is made using a traditional method. This means it goes through a second fermentation, or bubbling process, right inside the bottle. After that, it rests and matures for at least nine months.
Only the very best local grapes are used to make Crémant de Luxembourg. These grapes must be perfectly healthy and fully ripe. They also need to be handled carefully so they don't get damaged before making the wine.
The name "Crémant de Luxembourg" became official on January 4, 1991. This is when the Marque Nationale: Appellation contrôlée Crémant de Luxembourg was created. Each bottle has a special rectangular label on the back. This label proves the wine's quality and how real it is. Experts check its color, how clear it is, its smell, and its taste. Also, the wine must have a certain amount of pressure inside the bottle, at least 4 bar. Luxembourg is the only country outside France allowed to use the term "crémant" for its sparkling wines.
History of Crémant de Luxembourg
Early Sparkling Wine in Luxembourg
Back in 1885, a French company called Champagne Mercier started making sparkling wine in Luxembourg. They did this to save money on taxes. They would bring wine from the Champagne region in France to Luxembourg. Then, they would finish the traditional sparkling wine process there. This included the second bubbling stage in the bottle.
Mercier could then sell their sparkling wine to Germany without high taxes. This was because Luxembourg was part of the Zollverein at the time. The Zollverein was a customs union that helped countries trade without extra fees. Germany had high taxes on sparkling wines bottled in France, but not on those from Luxembourg.
Luxembourg's Own Wine Production
Luxembourg started making its own sparkling wine after the First World War. In 1921, a person named Paul Faber had a great idea. He helped Luxembourg's wine producers join together to form a national cooperative. This cooperative later became known as Domaines Vinsmoselle. The company Poll-Fabaire is named after him.
Today, Domaines Vinsmoselle is a large cooperative with 350 members. They produce about 65% of all the wine made in Luxembourg. This is nearly 800 hectoliters of wine. It was thanks to the efforts of Vinsmoselle that Luxembourg was allowed to use the "Crémant de Luxembourg" name. This put them alongside other crémants from different regions of France, like Alsace and Bordeaux.
