Sec
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 are dry, with very little residual sugar (less than 4 g/L). In sparkling wines and Champagne, “sec” indicates an off dry or slightly sweet style with 17-35 g/L of residual sugar, noticeably sweeter than Brut or Extra Dry wines. Sec wines pair well with desserts, fruits or even spicy foods.
See Also
Doux
Doux is the French term for "sweet", representing the highest and sweetest classification level in French wine (>50 g/L residual sugar).
Port
Port wine is a sweet, fortified wine from Douro Valley, Portugal. It is created by halting the fermentation process early by the addition of brandy, resulting in a rich, high alcohol wine.
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.
Rosé
Rosé is a type of wine that is made from red grapes that gains its signature pink color through brief contact with the grape skins. Rosé combines the crispness of white wine with the red fruit flavors of red wine, featuring notes of red fruit, flowers, citrus and melon.
Amarone
Amarone della Valpolicella is a full bodied dry red wine from Veneto in Italy. It is famous for its high alcohol, bold tannins, low acidity and complex flavors of dried cherry, chocolate and spice.
Dry Wine
A dry wine is a wine that contains very little to no residual sugar, resulting in a flavor profile that lacks sweetness. It is defined by sugar levels (often under 4g/L) and not by mouth drying tannins.
Sparkling Wine
Sparkling wine refers to the type of wine with significant amounts of carbon dioxide dissolved in it, which makes it fizzy or bubbly. Carbon dioxide is introduced through a secondary fermentation process in the bottle (e.g., Champagne) or tank (Prosecco).
Brut
Brut is the French term for dry sparkling wine with very low sugar content: specifically less than 12 grams per liter (g/L) of residual sugar.