The world of sparkling wine is a vast one. While champagne has long been the reigning king, there&#39;s another contender that&rsquo;s not only equally delicious but also offers great value for money - Cremant.

Cremant hails from various regions in France and Luxembourg. It uses the same traditional method as champagne (m&eacute;thode champenoise) to achieve its delicate bubbles, yet it often comes at half the price or less! The secret? Well, it&rsquo;s all about location; while Champagne can only be produced in its namesake region under strict regulations, cremants are free to flourish across multiple French territories.

But don&#39;t let their affordable prices fool you into thinking they&rsquo;re inferior &ndash; these wines are nothing short of exceptional when it comes to quality and taste. In fact, many top producers have garnered impressive scores from esteemed wine critics worldwide.

Let&#39;s talk grapes first though. Unlike champagne which primarily uses Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes; cremants enjoy a more diverse palette including Chenin Blanc (Loire), Riesling (Alsace), Mauzac (Limoux) among others depending on their region of origin.

We have two fabulous recommendations that are great values:

<a href="https://www.grapesthewineco.com/wines/Sylvain-Bzikot-Cremant-de-Bourgogne-w2303009kb">1) Sylvain Bzikot - Cremant de Bourgogne NV</a>. Priced at a modest $23.99, this sparkling wine is an absolute steal considering its quality and taste.

Sylvain Bzikot hails from a family of winemakers that has been rooted in Puligny-Montrachet since 1940s. Over the years, they&#39;ve perfected their craft and today produce some of Burgundy&#39;s most sought-after wines.

The Cremant de Bourgogne NV embodies all the qualities you&#39;d expect from such a distinguished producer; it&#39;s elegant yet full-bodied with complex aromas of ripe apples, toasted brioche and subtle hints of honeycomb. The palate reveals fine bubbles that lead to a crisp finish &ndash; making it perfect for any celebration or as an accompaniment to seafood dishes.

Critics are equally impressed with this cremant sparkler; Wine Enthusiast awarded it 90 points while praising its &quot;bright acidity&quot; and &quot;rich apple flavors&quot;. It&rsquo;s no wonder why many consider this bubbly as one of Burgundy&#39;s best-kept secrets!

<a href="https://www.grapesthewineco.com/wines/Francois-Baur-Cremant-d-Alsace-Brut-Reserve-w3941620en">2) Fran&ccedil;ois Baur - Cr&eacute;mant d&#39;Alsace Brut Reserve NV</a> priced at just $17.99! This wine comes from one of Alsace&rsquo;s oldest estates dating back to 1741 which transitioned into biodynamic farming in early 2000s &ndash; showcasing their commitment towards preserving nature whilst producing top-quality wines.

This cr&eacute;mant is made predominantly from Pinot Blanc grapes along with small proportions of Chardonnay &amp; Pinot Noir adding depth and complexity to its profile. Expect fresh notes of green apple, pear coupled with creamy undertones resulting in well-rounded mouthfeel balanced by lively acidity.

Wine critics have showered praises on this bubbly; Decanter Magazine awarded it 91 points, noting its &quot;delicate mousse&quot; and &quot;persistent finish&quot;. This is a testament to the winery&#39;s dedication towards producing high-quality wines that deliver exceptional value.

Both Sylvain Bzikot - Cremant de Bourgogne NV and Fran&ccedil;ois Baur - Cr&eacute;mant d&#39;Alsace Brut Reserve NV are outstanding examples of what cremants can offer. They&rsquo;re not just affordable alternatives to champagne but also quality sparklers in their own right &ndash; proving once again that great wine doesn&#39;t have to break the bank!

So how do we best enjoy these fantastic bubblies during summer? With food pairings galore! For starters try pairing your favorite cr&eacute;mant with a plate of fresh oysters or grilled prawns, the acidity and bubbles work wonderfully to cleanse your palate. If you&#39;re planning a picnic in the park, why not bring along some creamy brie cheese or smoked salmon sandwiches? The rich flavors are beautifully balanced by cr&eacute;mant&rsquo;s crispness.

So, cremants offer incredible value without sacrificing quality or taste - they truly deserve their place at our tables alongside (or even instead of) champagne this summer season! So next time you reach for that bottle of bubbly remember &ndash; there&#39;s more than just champagne out there waiting to tickle your tastebuds. Cheers!

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The world of sparkling wine is a vast one. While champagne has long been the reigning king, there's another contender that’s not only equally delicious but also offers great value for money - Cremant.

Cremant vs Champagne: The real deal for bubbles.

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

The Four Horsemen

Grant Wood

The Four Horseman 

Located on 295 Grand St in Brooklyn, near Williamsburg, The Four Horseman is a cozy wine bar with great small plates that merry well with a very thoughtful wine list and was started by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.

Alright Robert, so looking at their almost 50-page wine list, I think this is a very passionate list with tons of personality so this is a place I would definitely lean into the staff and ask what is most exciting to them in the moment as I&rsquo;m sure they&rsquo;ll be more than willing to share with you. Let&rsquo;s dive in and look at what caught by attention though.

I&rsquo;d like to start by saying that I like how their table of contents is laid out but starting with &ldquo;what&rsquo;s new&rsquo;&rsquo; and &lsquo;&rsquo;last call&rsquo;&rsquo; as a fun way to show you something new that they&rsquo;re excited about as well as things that might be on the way out and might not get in for a while. It&rsquo;s a useful tool that my favorite wine shops use to keep things fresh and make sure you don&rsquo;t miss out. For their new additions, I&rsquo;d go for the 2017 Eric Rodez Coteaux &ldquo;Ambonnay Rouge&rdquo; Pinot Noir which is very rare to find a still red Pinot Noir from Champagne. For their last call, I&rsquo;d go for the 2020 Emmanuel Haget &ldquo;Palabres&rdquo; which is Pineau d&rsquo;Aunis from the Loire, which is light, spicy, and easygoing at a very accessible price.

Since we&rsquo;re in summer and it&rsquo;s always a good idea for rose then I like the 2020 Enderle &amp; Moll rose of Sp&auml;tburgunder coming from Baden in Germany but if you want to splurge then I can&rsquo;t say no to the 2010 Lopez de Heredia &ldquo;Vina Tondonia&rdquo; Gran Reserva from Rioja which is, yes, an ageable rose.

For bubbles, I think the &quot;Jus Jus Day&quot; Chardonnay and Muscat Blanc by Martha Stoumen and Julia Sherman is super fun and a great value. The 01&rsquo; &lsquo;Reserve Priv&eacute;e by B&eacute;r&ecirc;che et Fils would be a great banger to splurge on from the Montagne de Reims.

For whites, I&rsquo;d go for the 2017 &ldquo;Saul&eacute;tas&rdquo; by Sebastien Riffault in Sancerre but of course, I can&rsquo;t pass up 2016 &lsquo;Pur Sang&rsquo; Blanc Fume de Pouilly from Dagueneau. They also have a fair amount of Burgundy so don&rsquo;t pass up a good rec from your server if that&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;re in the mood for. There&rsquo;s a great selection but not enough time for me to really get into on this pod. Alternatively, I think the 2019 C&ocirc;tes du Jura Pollock&rsquo;s&nbsp;Chardonnay is a great way to experience a different side of French chardonnay.

On to reds, a great value is the 2018 syrah from Jean-Michel Stephan who makes amazing C&ocirc;te Rotie but his regular syrah is a banger for the price compared to his more coveted bottlings. If you want to splurge, then, of course, you can go with Chave or Clape as well which never disappoints. Moving away from France, I know you like big wines with age Robert so if you go here anytime soon then you have to order the 9&rsquo; C&ocirc;tes du Jura Pollock&rsquo;s&nbsp;Chardonnay who is a true OG of barolo and worth the splurge. Another fun wine with some age is the 10&rsquo; Priorat Dits del Terra by Terroir al Limit which is a project by Eden Sadie and Dominik Huber doing awesome things with unique sites from Spain&rsquo;s Priorat. One last wine I&rsquo;ll mention that would be fun is the 2019 Port Phillip &ldquo;Ray-Monde Vineyard&rdquo; pinot noir by Josh Cooper down under in Australia. These are not the big, ripe Aussie wines that most people think of though. This is a much more of a light and more delicate style of Aussie juice.

There&rsquo;s a great list of mags too, so don&rsquo;t be shy and I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;re in for a good time at The Four Horseman.

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Cheers!

BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Zenato is a family-owned winery located in the heart of the Veneto region in northeastern Italy. Since its founding in 1960 by Sergio Zenato, the winery has been dedicated to producing high-quality wines that reflect the unique terroir of the region. Zenato is known for its exceptional Amarone, Valpolicella, and Lugana wines, which are crafted with precision and care using traditional winemaking techniques.

French cuisine & craft cocktails are served in this airy, industrial-chic setting with a patio.

Krasi

Sazon

La Boca

Coppa

Helm Oyster Bar & Bistro

Helm Oyster Bar and Bistro

Ledger Restaurant & Bar

Ledger

Row 34

The Ordinary

The Fig

Harvest

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