Crémant de Bourgogne made its entry to the market in October 1975, for a while only as a rose. It now claims to be produced under some of the strictest rules in France. These include: hand harvesting in whole bunches, the use of small boxes with perforated bottoms and the same pressing protocols as champagne. Vineyards for Crémant grapes have to be declared before the end of March. It is produced in The Yonne, The Cote d'Or, Saone et Loire and the Rhone. A new hierarchy of produce has been recently introduced, Eminent for Crémant (with an extended ageing period of 24 months) and Grand Eminent (has an extended ageing period of 36 months, use of specific grape verieties, minimum alchohol content, restricted use of pressed juice and a required lapse of time prior to sale after bottling. Cremant de Bourgogne can be regarded as a Champagne lookalike because of its use of chardonnay and pinot noir, which are the mainstay grapes of Champagne.
Total surface area of production is 2,861 ha (7,067 acres).
Number of producers is 1,685.
Number of bottles sold: 19.2 million per year.
Examples of sparkling wines in the Burgundy region are:
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