When looking for a great alternative sparkling wine this holiday season, reach for a Blanquette de Limoux or Crémant de Limoux from Languedoc, South of France. Limoux is where the traditional method of sparkling wine production originated and it is time these wines get discovered. It was 1544 when wines that had undergone a second fermentation in their bottles were first enjoyed in the Limoux area, long before their Champagne counterparts!
You can enjoy a Blanquette de Limoux or Crémant de Limoux for a fraction of the price of other traditional method sparkling wines. And the quality you will find can’t be beat As an added bonus, you are enjoying a long and prestigious history with each sip!
What’s the difference? Blanquette vs. Crémant:
Both Blanquette and Crémant mean sparkling wine, but Blanquette de Limoux wines are made primarily from the Mauzac grape whereas Crémant wines have higher percentages of Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. Nevertheless, both undergo their second fermentation in the bottle and yet carry price tags that make them very wallet friendly.
WHERE TO FIND LANGUEDOC SPARKLING:
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- Florida
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits
- Florida
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- Illinois
Binny’s Beverage Depot (Chicago Area)
- Illinois
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- Massachusetts
Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquor (Boston)
- Massachusetts
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- New York
PJ Wine (North Manhattan)
Gotham Wine & Liquors (Upper West Side, Manhattan)
Garnet Wines (Upper East Side, Manhattan)
Winfield-Flynn (Murray Hill, Manhattan)
Red White & Bubbly (Park Slope, Brooklyn)
Westchester Wine Warehouse (NYC Area)
Astor Wines (NoHo, Manhattan)
Harrison Wine Vault (289 Halstead Avenue, Harrison)
- New York
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- New Jersey
Restaurant Latour (Crystal Springs Resort, 1 Wild Turkey Way, Hamburg)
Vino Fine Wine & Spirits (33 Elcock Avenue, Boonton Township)
David Burke Fromagerie ( 26 Ridge Road, Rumson)
Bayway Liquors (639 Bayway Avenue, Elizabeth) - Oregon
Vinopolis (Portland)
- New Jersey
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- Washington
Mad Wine (Seattle)
- Washington
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- online
Wine.com
- online
Don’t see a store near you? click here and enter “Limoux” to find one.