Brut vs Extra Dry which is better? Looking at the finest of wines, the most dynamic all-time whines have always been the brut and dry Italian types. Northern Italy is well-known for its high quality and classic wines due to its favorable weather conditions.
The balanced lake winds in the north have made the country prominent in the production of brut and extra dry wines. The famous Franciatora originally known as Franzacurta is considered one of Italy’s sparkling premium affordable wines.
Sometimes, it’s been compared to the prominent French champagne. However, this Italian bottle is affordable than champagne. It’s been considered a big-time rival to champagne since these two share some features in common.
Just like Champagne, the grape used in the production of Franciatora is exceptionally produced at low yields in a season. It also undergoes an extra bottle fermentation process using the method champenoise. Franciacorta is well-known for it’s residual sugars and unmatched sweetness from the extra driest to semi-Dec aromas. T
Northern Italy is highly dominant in the production of premium sparkling wines ranging from extra dry to brut types; nurtured by the perfect climatic conditions in the region.
However, many people face a hard time pointing out the differences between the extra brut (driest) and brut wines. Therefore, in this piece of text, I’ll help you distinct between brut vs extra dry sparkling wines.
Dry Wine
Before we hop in deeper into the differences between extra dry and brut wines, let’s get to know what calling a wine ‘dry’ means. Calling a wine dry tells us a lot about its sugar composition. Naturally, grapes are known to have high sugar levels which are eventually reduced during the fermentation process. This means that dry wines have lower residual sugars.
Brut vs Extra Dry
- Brut is a wine that contains 1.5% sugar while an extra dry whine has a composition of 2% sugar content.
- Brut is a booze drink served before meals to increase appetite while extra dry wines are abstract drinks served after dinner/meals.
- Brut has a crustier taste while extra dry wine is prominent for its sugar-rich taste it leaves on your tongue.
What Makes a Wine Dry?
When a wine is undergoing the fermentation process, yeast extracts the sugars from the wine leaving only the required amount of sugar required. The amount of residual sugars varies in all dry wines.
The amount of sugar to be extracted will be determined by the amount of time the process takes. The longer the process, the lesser the residual sugars and vice versa.
However, sugar can be added back to the wine even after fermentation to make the dry wine sweeter or fruitier depending on the type of flavor and perfect factors as well as procedures recommended.
Apart from the variance in sugar levels, we have other factors that influence and lead us to the sweetness we experience in the sips of these sparkling dry wines. They include:
- Aging period
- Flavor notes
- Alcohol composition
- Acidity
Dry wines with the following features will highly vary in taste from others i.e. they might taste sweeter.
- When the oak is aging, it tends to be sweeter since it adds sugar noted such as vanilla and caramel which are amongst the sweetest flavors we’ve come across
- Low sugar levels in a dry wine make it sweeter
- Riper and higher fruit notes especially tropical ones will increase sweetness in a dry wine while bitter ones like lemon and make a wine drier.
- Carbonating drinks are known to shoot flavors especially if we’re talking about dry notes. It sky strikes the sweetness in dry wines and makes them drier.
- Higher alcohol composition in wine makes it drier and sweeter.
- Low acid levels in a wine are known to make a dry wine sweeter
Are Dry Wines Popular?
This depends on where you come from. Globally, brut, dry, and extra dry wines are quite popular, especially in the south American and tropical countries. This is because the climate in and around those places is favorable for the growth of ingredient fruits and other factors.
However, wines are less in the United States region thus leading to the high import rate for wines into the country. The driest of wines are known to be the sweetest and mouth-filling. Being the best quality of sparklers, they simultaneously go at higher prices
One misunderstanding dry and extra dry wine consumers face is the dryness they leave in your mouth. This is caused by high levels of tannins in a wine’s composition. Dry and extra dry wines are known to have higher levels of tannins which give them the drying sensation.
When looking at people’s preference between brut vs extra dry, we realize that many people fancy drier wines and prefer them to brut wines. The higher the quality of the wine, the sweeter, and drier the wine.
Difference Between Brut vs Extra Dry Wines
The main factor that makes these two types of wine differ is the level of residual sugars they hold. Drier wines are known to have less residual sugar than brut wines.
Doux wines
These are also referred to as sparkling wines or sweet champagnes. They have sugar levels of up to fifty grams per liter. In Italy, these sweet sparkling wines go by the name Dulce. These dessert wines are known to have the highest sugar levels amongst all sparkling wines e.g. Moscato.
Demi-sec wines
They contain thirty-five to forty-nine grams of sugar per liter thus less sweet than doux wines. They are popular from South Africa to California to France.
Dry wines
These are wines whose sweetness is not realized easily especially after hitting your first sip. They carry seventeen to thirty-two grams of sugar per liter.
Extra dry wines
Extra dry wines hold twelve to seventeen grams of sugar per liter thus making their sweetness barely noticeable. Many white wines are categorized as extra dry wines.
Brut wines
These are the driest of wines you can come across. They hold just six grams of sugar per liter. Many sparkling wines with very little sweetness fall into this category e.g. Champagnes and Roses.
You could also read about Brut vs extra dry vs spumante wines.
Brut vs Extra Dry - Conclusion
Brut vs extra dry which is better? When going for a brut or extra dry wine, there are a few factors you might want to consider. Go through the article above to choose a bottle that will soothe your occasion. For instance, go for Brut if you’re looking for the best champagne since it is crispy, bubbly, and acidic.
