Crémant de Luxembourg, the sparkling wine that stopped being Schampes in 1991

If one bottle stands for Luxembourg, it’s this one. Crémant is the sparkling wine of the Luxembourg Moselle, and I think it’s among the most interesting things you can drink in the country, for its quality and for its story. It also has a big advantage for visitors, because you taste it in lovely cellars on the riverbank. Here’s what it is, how it differs from Champagne and where I’d try it.

What is crémant de Luxembourg?

It’s the sparkling wine of the Moselle luxembourgeoise PDO. André Mehlen, of the national wine institute, explains it on the country’s official portal. Like Champagne, it’s a quality sparkling wine, and it can only be made from wines that already carry the PDO. Every crémant ferments in the bottle and then rests on its yeasts for at least nine months, rising to 24 for one of the most prized vintage cuvées, before it goes on sale. The official wine page adds that the grapes are picked by hand and pressed whole.

Why it’s been called crémant since 1991

It’s a curious story, and the same institute tells it. Before 1991 Luxembourgers called their sparkling wine Schampes, the Luxembourgish word for Champagne. That year the term méthode champenoise was banned outside Champagne, and the word crémant, which nobody was using, became available to seven French regions and to Luxembourg. Since then the country has had its own Crémant de Luxembourg.

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How is it different from Champagne?

In three ways, according to the official portal. The Moselle’s soil and climate are not Champagne’s. Luxembourg allows more grape varieties. And Luxembourg crémant can be made with Riesling, which isn’t permitted in Champagne. That last difference is the one I’d look for on the label, because you won’t find it in any other famous sparkling wine. The country’s grapes and how to read a label are in Luxembourg wine.

Where to taste it

The tourist board details three cellars I’d consider. Caves Bernard-Massard, in Grevenmacher, calls itself the country’s leading family producer, with almost 3,500,000 bottles a year, and visitluxembourg gave its hours as 10:00 to 18:00 for the last week of September 2026. The visit is covered in Bernard-Massard cellars. Caves St Martin, on the edge of Remich, has almost a kilometre of galleries dug into the limestone, at 12 °C all year round, so take a jumper, and it opens Wednesday to Sunday. And the Caves du Sud at Remerschen, run by the Domaines Vinsmoselle cooperative, the country’s leading producer of wines and crémants, offers tastings from €10 per person as of September 2026.

If you have the LuxembourgPass, it includes the Bernard-Massard cellar tour with a glass of crémant and the traditional visit at Caves St Martin with a glass of wine.

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The crémant villages

The official portal singles out three Moselle villages as the home of crémant, Wellenstein, Bech-Kleinmacher and Schwebsingen, linked by a 4.8 km walking circuit through the vineyards. It’s the plan I’d make for an autumn morning, walking among the vines and finishing at a cellar. Start in Wellenstein and take it from there, and if time allows, Bech-Kleinmacher has the A Possen museum on Moselle winegrowing life. Schwebsingen, at the other end, is also home to the country’s only marina, the Schengen Marina, with more than 200 berths, according to the tourist board, which says a lot about how much life this short stretch of river has.

How I’d drink it

As an aperitif, mainly. With a slice of Rieslingspaschtéit or a plate of fried Moselle fish it’s hard to go wrong, and the youth hostels’ food blog even suggests it with Quetschentaart, the autumn plum tart, to balance the sweetness. Bernard-Massard’s list includes Pinot Noir rosés and vintage cuvées, and Caves St Martin makes crémants alongside its Chardonnay and Saint-Laurent. Check the label too, because the crémant rules, as published by Vins & Crémants Luxembourg, only require less than 50 g of sugar per litre, which leaves room for a dry brut and a much sweeter demi-sec. My tip is to taste a white and a rosé one after the other, because the contrast helps you work out what you like before you buy a case.

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When to go and how much to bring home

The big date is the capital’s Fête des Vins et Crémants, from 27 to 29 November 2026. Heading back to Britain, gov.uk allows 9 litres of sparkling wine or other drinks up to 22%, plus another 18 litres of still, which is a full case of crémant and some still wine besides.

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