What does Brut mean in champagne bottles?

If you work in Food and Beverage, you may have come across the word Brut on the bottle of a Champagne. What does Brut mean in Champagne bottles.

In this video tutorial, we will find out.

Read the Transcript

If you have been selling wines, you would have noticed the word Brut on sparkling wine labels. A sparkling wine that comes to mind is the Sula Brut. So what does Brut mean in Champagne bottle?

Is it a type of wine, a grape or something else?

The short answer to the question is that it is a french word for dry.

If that is all you wanted to know, you can leave this video knowing that brut means dry, but if you want to learn more about it, continue watching this video.

Ok, so you learnt brut means dry in French. But what exactly does it mean in sparkling wine? If you read a label, and it says brut, expect the wine to be dry and sharp. It will not be very sweet.

A wine’s level of sweetness is determined by the level of dosage. Dosage is the practice of adding a small amount of sweetened wine back into the bottle. This triggers secondary fermentation, in the bottle, giving the sparkling wine its bubbles.

While many Champagnes and sparkling wines have a high dosage, brut wine has very little of this sweetened wine added to it, keeping it dry and sharp.

Now if you are with me so far, it gets interesting from here because depending on the dosage or sweetener added, you may have different types of wines.

• Brut Nature or Brut Zero is the driest of the dry. This Brut is highly acidic and intense.
• Extra Brut is not quite as dry as Brut nature but is still highly acidic.
• Brut can contain anywhere between 0-12 grams of sugar per liter and is dry but slightly less acidic than Brut nature or extra Brut.
• As more sugar is added as part of the dosage, the style changes from Brut to Extra Sec, sec, demi-sec and doux. A doux is sweet and can have more sugar than a can of coke.

When you drink or suggest a Brut style of wine or champagne, it will feel sharp and crisp. There will be no hint of sweetness in the wine. Since it is sharp, it can cut through fat, and pairs beautifully with cheese and fatty meats. It is also a good accompaniment to heavy and rich Indian curries loaded with cashew and nuts.

Some popular styles of Brut wines are Sula, Chandon and Fratelli Grand Cuvee.

Now that you know what Brut wines are go and sell them confidently.