Brut
Brut
Brut is the French term for “dry”, “raw” or “unrefined”, which refers to sparkling wine with very low sugar content: specifically less than 12 grams per liter (g/L) of residual sugar. It is the most popular and food friendly champagne style, offering a balanced, non sweet taste.
See Also
Cava
Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine produced in Catalonia using the traditional method just like Champagne. It is typically dry, with zesty citrus and apple flavors.
Fortified Wine
Fortified wine is a style of wine to which a distilled spirit (usually brandy) has been added, resulting in a higher alcohol content (15-22%). The spirits are either added during fermentation to create sweet wines like Port, or after fermentation to craft dry wines like Sherry.
Dessert Wine
Dessert wine is any wine with high residual sugar, often served in smaller, chilled glasses as a dessert or with a dessert. They typically feature high acidity, with some being fortified with spirits.
Marsala
Marsala is a fortified wine produced from indigenous grapes in Sicily, Italy. It is fortified with grape spirits and typically has 15-20% alcohol by volume.
Sauternes
Sauternes is a French wine from Bordeaux, particularly the Sauternes and Barsac regions. Sauternes wine is made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea (noble rot).
Organic Wine
Organic wine is made from grapes grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, according to the principles of organic farming.
Sec
'Sec" refers to the French word for "dry" and its meaning in wine varies depending on the wine type. In still wines, sec wines have very little residual sugar (less than 4 g/L), while in sparkling wines and Champagne, "sec" indicates an off dry or slightly sweet style with 17-35 g/L of residual sugar.
Prosecco
Prosecco refers to the Italian sparkling white wine which is crafted from at least 85% Glera grapes in Northeast Italy. It is produced using the Charmat (tank) method, typically light, fresh and fruit forward.