What is Brut Sparkling Wine? (10 Best Bottles, Flavors, Pairings, Prices)

Looking to know more about brut sparkling wine and find the perfect bottle?

Brut sparkling wine is typically dry with 6-12 grams of residual sugar per litre - the perfect choice if you’re cutting your sugar intake but still want to indulge in wine!

Let’s discover the 10 best bottles to buy in 2021, taste, characteristics, food pairings, and how the wine is made. We’ll also tell you the main difference between Brut sparkling wine, Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco.

10 Best Brut Sparkling Wine Bottles To Buy In 2021

Here are some remarkable Brut sparkling wines you shouldn’t miss.

1. 2002 Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux Brut, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
2. NV Roederer Estate Brut, Anderson Valley, USA
3. NV Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Perle de Vigne Grande Reserve Brut, Burgundy, France
4. NV Mumm Napa Brut Prestige, Napa Valley, USA
5. NV Maison J B F Cremant de Limoux Brut, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
6. NV Piper Sonoma Select Cuvee Brut, Sonoma County, USA
7. NV De Valloie Cremant de Loire ‘Paramour’ Methode Traditionnelle Brut, Loire, France
8. NV Domaine Ste. Michelle ‘Michelle’ Brut, Columbia Valley, USA
9. NV Nederburg Premiere Cuvee Sparkling Brut, Western Cape, South Africa
10. NV Weibel Family Vineyards & Winery Stanford Brut Governor’s Cuvee, California, USA

1. 2002 Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux Brut, Languedoc-Roussillon, France ($41)

This vintage sparkling wine has a creamy texture, citrus fruit flavor, and pear, apple, and brioche notes. 

2. NV Roederer Estate Brut, Anderson Valley, USA ($26)

This bubbly white wine is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grape varieties.

It’s a medium-bodied wine with crisp minerality, crushed apple flavors, and pear, lemon peel, and floral notes.aromas

3. NV Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Perle de Vigne Grande Reserve Brut, Burgundy, France ($22)

This sparkling white wine is made from Gamay, Pinot Noir, Aligote, and Chardonnay grapes.

It has fine bubbles, a floral aroma, and citrus, peach, and toasty lees notes.

4. NV Mumm Napa Brut Prestige, Napa Valley, USA ($21)

This medium-bodied sparkling wine is made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.

It has elegant acidity, a floral aroma, and creamy vanilla, citrus, stone fruit, and melon notes.

5. NV Maison J B F Cremant de Limoux Brut, Languedoc-Roussillon, France ($21)

This Brut wine bottle has fine acidity, white flower aromas, crisp minerality, vanilla flavors, and peach, mango, and lemon notes.

6. NV Piper Sonoma Select Cuvee Brut, Sonoma County, USA ($18)

This sparkling white wine has fine bubbles, brilliant acidity, vanilla flavor, and subtle citrus, apricot, and melon notes.

7. NV De Valloire Cremant de Loire ‘Paramour’ Methode Traditionnelle Brut, Loire, France ($15)

This bubbly Brut wine has a creamy texture, bright acidity, citrus flavors, and pear, peach, and brioche notes.

8. NV Domaine Ste. Michelle ‘Michelle’ Brut, Columbia Valley, USA ($14)

This sparkling wine is made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris grape varieties.

It has a white flower aroma, chalky minerality, vanilla flavor, and apple, pear, and brioche notes.

9. NV Nederburg Premiere Cuvee Sparkling Brut, Western Cape, South Africa ($11)

This sparkling wine has brilliant acidity, fine minerality, pineapple flavors, and citrus fruit, nectarine, apple, and brioche aromas. 

10. NV Weibel Family Vineyards & Winery Stanford Brut Governor’s Cuvee, California, USA ($11)

This bubbly Brut wine has a creamy texture, brilliant sweetness, fine acidity, citrus fruit flavors, withe subtle apricot, mint, and vanilla notes. 

Brut Sparkling Wine: Flavors, Serving Tips, And Food Pairings

Brut sparkling wines vary in taste based on the grape varieties used in the wine. However, they have a typical creamy texture, fine bubbles, and a hint of sweetness.

For best results, place your bottle of bubbly in the refrigerator for about three hours and serve it in a Champagne flute.

Pair your Brut sparkling wine with cheese, fatty meats, and salty meals.

How Is Brut Sparkling Wine Made?

Brut sparkling wine is made using one of these winemaking techniques:

1. Traditional Method

This technique is also referred to as the Champagne method or Methode champenoise. It’s used for producing Champagne and Cava wine.

During winemaking, the base wine is added to a bottle with sugar and yeast to trigger secondary fermentation. The yeast then feeds on sugar and releases carbon dioxide, giving the sparkling wine its classic bubbles.

After fermentation, the wine is aged in lees for a few months before the winemaker performs riddling to collect the lees at the bottle’s neck. Finally, the wine is disgorged to remove the sediment.

2. Transfer Method

In this method, the wine undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle. The wine is then transferred into large tanks where the sediment is filtered out before being bottled.

3. Tank Method

In the tank method (Charmat method), the sparkling wines undergo the second fermentation inside stainless steel tanks. After that, they’re cooled, filtered, and bottled under pressure.

What Is The Difference Between Brut Sparkling Wine, Champagne, Cava, And Prosecco?

Here’s how Brut sparkling wine differs from Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco:

• Champagne is a sparkling wine made only in the Champagne region of France. The grape varieties used are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.

• Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine made from Glera, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir grape varieties. The wine can either be spumante (fully sparkling) or frizzante (lightly sparkling).

• Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine produced from the Champagne method. However, it isn’t called Champagne since it isn’t produced in a Champagne house in France.

Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco can only be classified as Brut sparkling wines if they contain 6-12 grams of residual sugar per litre.

What Are The Different Sparkling Wine Sweetness Levels?

Here are the different sweetness levels you’ll find in sparkling wines.

• Brut Nature (Brut Zero): This is the driest sparkling wine with 0-3 grams of residual sugar per litre.

• Extra Brut: An Extra Brut sparkling wine has 3-6 grams of residual sugar per litre.

• Brut: This dry sparkling wine has 6-12 grams of residual sugar per litre.

• Extra Dry (or Extra Sec): This is an off-dry sparkling wine with 12-20 grams of residual sugar per litre.

• Sec: This sparkling wine contains 17-32 grams of residual sugar per litre.

• Demi-Sec: This sweet sparkling wine contains 32-50 grams of residual sugar per litre.

• Doux:  Doux is the sweetest sparkling wine with 50+ grams of residual sugar per litre.

Ready to Sip A Bubbly Brut Sparkling Wine?

With just 6-12 grams of sugar per litre, Brut sparkling wines are perfect low-sugar options. 

Their long-term cellaring potential and brilliant fruity flavors make them excellent additions to your wine collection.

If you’re into fine wine investment, visit the Vinovest website to easily buy, store, and sell authentic brut sparklers, extra brut wines,vintage Champagne, and other fine winessourced from the world’s best vineyard sites.