Stand in front of a shelf of Champagne and you’ll see the same few words again and again: Brut, Extra Brut, Sec, Demi-Sec. They all describe one thing – how sweet the Champagne is – and once you can read them, choosing a bottle gets a whole lot easier.
It all comes down to dosage
After the bubbles are made, almost every Champagne receives a small top-up of wine and sugar called the dosage. This is what sets the final sweetness, and it’s measured in grams of sugar per litre. More dosage means a rounder, sweeter wine; less means something crisp and bone-dry. Counter-intuitively, the word that sounds sweet – “Sec”, French for dry – actually sits on the sweeter end of the scale, a quirk left over from the 19th century.
The sweetness scale, driest to sweetest
Brut Nature (0–3 g/L): no sugar added at all. Lean, mineral and razor-sharp.
Extra Brut (0–6 g/L): very dry, but a touch more forgiving than Brut Nature.
Brut (up to 12 g/L): the classic, all-purpose style and by far the most common. Dry, balanced and food-friendly.
Extra Dry / Extra Sec (12–17 g/L): just off-dry, with a gentle hint of sweetness.
Sec (17–32 g/L): noticeably sweet, despite the name meaning “dry”.
Demi-Sec (32–50 g/L): properly sweet – a natural partner for dessert.
Doux (50+ g/L): the sweetest and rarest style of all.
So which one is “normal”?
If a Champagne simply says Brut, that’s the safe, versatile choice and what most people picture when they think of Champagne. It works as an aperitif, with food, and for toasting, which is exactly why it dominates the shelves.
Which should you pick?
For a crisp aperitif or seafood, reach for Brut or Extra Brut. If you find very dry styles a little austere, Extra Dry softens the edges. And when there’s cake or fruit dessert on the table, a Demi-Sec is the bottle that won’t be overpowered by the sugar on the plate.
Now that the label makes sense, the fun part is tasting your way along the scale. Explore our map to find places near you that pour genuine Champagne by the glass or bottle, and join a community of fellow enthusiasts chasing the same sparkle around the world.