Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

When talking about sparkling wine, most tend to think about Champagne. Champagne is a wine region in northern France, exclusively making sparkling wine. The method used here is even called the champagne method, meaning the wines ferment a second time in the bottle with added yeast and sugar, creating bubbles captured in the bottle. When the fermentation is done, the bottle will be opened to remove the yeast sediment, creating a beautiful and clear wine. At the same time, dosage will be added. Dosage is a mix of the same wine as well as sugar. The more sugar used in the mix, the sweeter the final wine will be. This method evolved due to the cool climate in this region, creating wines with a very sharp acidity. By adding a bit of sugar, the acidity will be perceived as softer, making the final wine more balanced.

The most common labelling term for dosage is Brut. This is a dry Champagne that is allowed a few grams of sugar to achieve this balance. Dry wines could also be labelled as Brut Nature or Zero Dosage, indicating that no sugar at all has been added providing an even crisper style of bubbly. Extra Brut is the term in between, with just a tad of added sugar, even lower than Brut. This scale is used for most sparkling wines around the world when made with the same method as Champagne, for instance in wine regions for Cava in Spain and Franciacorta in Italy.&nbsp;

However, other scales of measuring the sugar level and the sweetness in the wine can be used. For the sparkling wine Prosecco, made in northeast Italy, the labelling terms are a bit more confusing. Brut is still used for a dry wine, but the term Extra Dry means the wine will have a bit of added sweetness and Dry tells you that the wine is actually semi dry, containing up to 32 grams of sugar per liter. That is four times more than a common Brut usually have today. Misunderstandings can therefore be quite common!

A wine with more sweetness will appear more flavorful and with riper fruit aromas, while a dry wine will be crispier with citrus aromas. Which style is the best is up to personal taste, so get to tasting!

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Nopa

Grant Wood

Nopa

RT: Hello and Welcome to CorkRules!&nbsp;

A podcast where we review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Grant Wood, wine educator and certified sommelier

Hello Grant, great to have you back for another great wine list.

GW: Hello Robert!

RT: Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules.

We created CorkRules to demystify wine list&rsquo;s because we know from experience, that sometimes wine lists can be intimidating, and even a little daunting.

Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

RT:&nbsp;So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list.

RT:

Nopa is a very popular gathering place north of the Panhandle and changes their menu weekly using whatever produce is in season from Northern California growers. They have a diverse wine and cocktail program that matches their ever-changing menu. Let&rsquo;s take a look and see what excites us on their list.

Let&rsquo;s look at their cocktails as you know I love a good libation to get my evening started.

Right away, I like the Pisco Punch which features Cappuro Quebranta Pisco, preserved meyer lemon cordial, pineapple gum, makrut lime and is a perfect way get things grooving.

I wouldn&rsquo;t pass on the Alebrije either which features Morro Espadin mezcal, Apricot Shrub, cacao, Espelette, and lemon that is sure to loosen the nerves and sure to get the party started.

If you&rsquo;re not in the mood for a cocktail, then their by-the-glass program is great and I would start with the 2020 sparkling Albari&ntilde;o by Carboniste from Andrus Island here in California which is a fun bubbly for a quick cheers and a good way to pair with something light.

Another fun wine by the glass would be the Chilled red Mission from Monte Rio Cellars coming from Lodi. Mission is of course the grape used by Spanish missionaries here in California that some producers are reviving and making cool, easy drinking wines from them. Fun Fact, the grape Mission is called Pais in Chile, Criolla Chica in Argentina but is called Listan Pietro in its native home of Spain that the Spanish brought to the new world.

Let&rsquo;s switch over to the bottle list. Starting with bubbles, the 2015 Caraccioli Cellars Brut Cuv&egrave;e from the Santa Lucia Highlands is a local favorite of mine whose winemaker was formerly of Roderer Estate.

If you wanna go big, I&rsquo;d go for the Ulysse Collin, Les Pierrieres bdb coming from the Aube.

For whites, The 2017 Matthiasson white wine from Napa Valley is a great wine based on sauvignon blanc and a great value wine made from well-farmed vineyards and is very food friendly.

Another great value is the 2020 Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc from Paso Robles is super fresh and easy going.

For something a bit rounder, I love the 2018 Newfound Chuy vineyard Chardonnay from Moon Mountain in Sonoma. Chuy is an exceptional farmer and planted this vineyard in the early 70s about 2k feet all head trained and dry farmed.

Moving to reds, the 2021 Scribe Nouveau of Pinot Noir from Carneros which is a carbonic wine that&rsquo;s fruity, fresh and easy going and a fun take of Beaujolais Nouveau at a good value.

Kicking things up a notch, I love the 2019 Littorai Cerise vineyard Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley. Ted Lemon makes stunning wines from Biodynamically farmed vineyards that are very sought after.

&nbsp;

Also, of course, I have to make a shout out to the 2017 Bedrock Vineyard Heritage from Sonoma Valley that comes from vines planted in 1888 by Senator Hearst which is based on Zinfandel along with 27 other varieties interplanted together.

Lastly, since I know you like the bigger reds Robert, I&rsquo;d go for the 2018 Ceritas, Peter-Martin Ray vineyard from the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

Overall, I love this list and the food they make is not to be missed. This is a San Francisco staple that you should definitely check out if you&rsquo;re in the Bay.

Cheers!

&nbsp;

Grant, thank you so much for all your great suggestions and helping us navigate Nopa&rsquo;s wine list. I can&rsquo;t wait to go try your great suggestions.&nbsp; &nbsp;

To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules.

If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: <a href="mailto:Info@corkrules.com">Info@CorkRules.com</a> or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible.

We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon. In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists.&nbsp;

And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

&nbsp;

Thank you.

&nbsp;

BRAT

Bocca di Lupe

Gap Weekend: A Film Shoot in Wine Country

Alba Restaurant

Alba

10 Greek Street

L'Auberge Chez Francois

Andrew Edmunds

Salt Seafood and Oyster Bar

Matteos Ristorante Italiano

Matteo's

Nino Franco is a family-owned winery that has been producing Prosecco for over a century. The winery is located in the heart of the Valdobbiadene region, which is known for producing some of the best Prosecco in the world. Nino Franco is committed to using traditional winemaking techniques to produce high-quality Prosecco that reflects the unique terroir of the region.

Huge steaks from an on-site butcher shop & a vast salad bar star at this family-friendly steakhouse.

Meson

Brasserie Mon Chou Chou

BondST

Buenos Aires Restaurant

Buenos Aires

Meadowsweet

Casa Mono

Atera

La Cava

LAVO Italian Restaurant

Lavo

Quality Italian

homepage

CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

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