In the sparkling wine industry, the term ‘Brut’ is used to classify the sweetness level of the wine, which is determined by the amount of residual sugar left in the wine after fermentation.
Here is a broad classification of the sweetness levels, starting from the driest:
- Brut Nature: This contains less than 3 grams of sugar per litre and no added sugar.
- Extra Brut: Slightly more sugar content, between 0 and 6 grams per litre.
- Brut: With sugar content between 6 and 12 grams per litre, Brut is dry but not as dry as Extra Brut or Brut Nature.
- Extra Sec or Extra Dry: Despite its name, Extra Sec is slightly sweeter than Brut, containing 12 to 17 grams of sugar per litre.
- Sec: This term means ‘dry’ in French, but it’s used for wines with 17 to 32 grams of sugar per litre.
- Demi-Sec: Even sweeter, with 32 to 50 grams of sugar per litre.
- Doux: The sweetest category, containing more than 50 grams of sugar per litre.
