Extra Brut

Definition - What does Extra Brut mean?

Extra brut is the term used to describe the driest type of champagne or sparkling wine. In order to qualify as extra brut, the wine must have no more than 6g/L of residual sugar. It is sometimes referred to as brut nature, because brut wine is made without any addition of sugar, thereby making it dry. Extra brut wines are dry and lack sweetness in taste.

WineFrog explains Extra Brut

Extra brut wine's production with a bare minimum amount of sugar contributes towards its dry taste. The wine is fermented to almost zero degrees of residual sugar. Given that extra brut wine has an extremely low sugar content, it is physically intolerant to the yeasts that produce alcohol. As a result, the yeasts ultimately die off; thus, with less sugar to digest, the yeast are unable to produce alcohol. This results in extra brut wines being very low in sugar, high in acidity and slightly lighter in alcohol content than their sweeter counterparts.