Champagne Day, October 20, 2017. What Does the Word Brut Mean?

World Champagne Day is October 20, did you celebrate?

Champagne is a sparkling wine made from a specific area in France and can only be made from one or a combination of the following grapes; Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.

There are other words on the bottle that can sometimes be confusing. Natural, Brut, Extra Dry, Sec and Doux to name a few.

• Natural. This is very dry. Not seen in too many places, but very dry.
• Brut. Dry and very commonly seen in stores and shops.
• Extra Dry. This is the 'one in the middle.' Not too dry and not yet sweet. I find this to be the one to make Mimosas or Kir Royals with.
• Demi-Sec or half dry. This is getting a bit sweet.
• Doux. Sweet

Then there are other words that you might come into contact with when you look for sparkling wine at the store. What is Cava? Spanish sparkling wine. It too has specific rules as to what can be called Cava. What is Prosecco? Italian sparkling wine. Again, this will also be from a specific place in Italy and is made from specific grapes. I will not bore you with that info. However, I would encourage you to try many different ones. If a sparkling wine (and I will use that term for all bubbly wines, regardless of where they are made) does not have one of those words on it, brut, extra dry, etc, they will usually signify that they are extra dry, or just not so dry.

It can be confusing, but always remember to ask what the differences are between each brand and to keep track of which ones you like as well as which ones you didn't.