When is Champagne not Champagne?

Champagne, that sparkling bubbly white
wine seems to be the drink of choice served
with appetizers here in France, or so
I thought.


Champagne is actually a region in the Northeast
of France, about an hour east of Paris.  It is
here that  the sparkling wine Champagne is
made.

When is champagne not champagne? ;  when the
sparkling white wine is not produced in the champagne
region.
"Since 1992, these bottlings (of sparkling wine) have
been barred from using "methode Champenoise" on their
labels." 
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/6720368/ns/today-food/t/its-french-its-sparkling-its-not-champagne/#.











 In America ,Champagne is often
 reserved for very special occasions,
especially New Year's Eve. Perhaps this is due
to the high price tag usually associated with
this bubbly.  Here is the good news.
There are other alternatives
to the prestigious Champagne, at 1/4 of the price;
crémant, a sparkling white wine from various
regions made in the same style as Champagne.







I, for one, have no problem tasting the
various poor cousins that are flooding the
market.

Next time you have friends over for

appetizers why not try a crémant?