Why does your Extra Dry Sparkling wine taste sweet?
Why does your extra dry sparkling wine taste sweet?
Let's dive into sparkling wine labeling terms and get to the bottom of this conundrum. Check out the viedo for a full explanation.
After most sparkling wines are made, they then have the 'dosage' added to them. It involves topping off the wine with a mixture of the base wine, sugar, and a smidge of th preservative sulfur dioxide. The mixture is called a liqueur d’expédition (this is bound to come up on a crossword one day and you'll thank me)
How much sugar they add will determine how dry of sweet the wines are.
Check out the sweetness scale below (bear in mind that a Jack Daniels + coke has 33g of sugar per litre)
~ Brut Nature (aka non-dosé or zéro dosage) - no added sugar and under 3 grams per liter of residual sugars
~ Extra-Brut - between 0 and 6 grams per liter of residual sugars
~ Brut - less than 12 grams per liter of residual sugars
~ Extra Dry (or Extra Sec) - between 12 and 17 grams per liter of residual sugars
~ Dry (or Sec) - between 17 and 32 grams per liter of residual sugars
~ Demi-Sec - between 32 and 50 grams per liter of residual sugars
~ Doux - more than 50 grams per litre of residual sugars
The latter wasn't on the vid and they're also well worth checking out. They're proper 'pudding' sparkles - fabulous with birthday cake
So how do you feel about that? Have you bought any Extra Dry sparkles and wondered why they're so sweet?
Thanks for reading and watching! Don't forget to drink the #goodstuff