DRINK DIFFERENT - GO SOUTH FOR BARGAIN FIZZ

With the pound at an all-time low against the Euro, enjoying a bottle of Champagne on more than just special occasions is starting to stretch the budget of the average drinker.  If you crave your regular fizz infusion, but are finding your wallet a bit light, here is an excellent tip on how you can get much the same experience for a lot less cash.

Throughout France there are a number of varieties of Crémant, each of which are made by the same secondary-fermentation-in-bottle method as Champagne – and all of them offer great value.  Regions like Burgundy, Alsace and Jura all have their own versions, but it is in the southwest of France, just south of Carcassonne, that we find this month’s Drink Different star.

Limoux makes two types of sparkler; Blanquette and Crémant.  The only difference if that Blanquette is made form the region’s indigenous Mauzac, whereas the Crémant must be predominantly Chardonnay – one of the three Champagne grapes.

The locals claim that the so-called ‘Champagne Method’ was in fact invented in Limoux; whatever the veracity of that particular claim, the local Crémant is a worthy alternative to its more prestigious – and expensive – cousin.