Dry pleasure - What is brut sparkling wine?

Champagne is actually a wine derivative, and it is characterised by the fact that the second maturation of the wine takes place in the bottle. This is where the magic happens, and where so many moments of joy are born. The theme of today's post is sparkling wine, whose name is synonymous with celebration and specialness. How was champagne born? What types are there and what does brut champagne mean? Here are the details!

From Don Perignon to Törley
Sparkling wine originated in France. In the cooler regions, fermentation was very often not completed until the year after the harvest, giving rise to sparkling wine, which was then considered a scrap commodity. The first sparkling wine was made at the turn of the 1600s and 1700s by Dom Pierre Pérignon, who was cellar master at the Abbey of St Benedict in Hautvilliers. He sealed the wine bottle with a cork made of cork and then dipped it in wax to prevent the cork from moving. This is how the first sparkling wines were made.

In Hungary, the first sparkling wine was probably made in the Sümeg area. This is where Lajos Rosty of Barkóczi lived, who studied champagne making in the Champagne region and then planted the roots of this noble process in his home country. As a result of his work, in 1806 there were already two champagne cellars in Sümeg, the Rost and the Bajomi cellars. The word "sparkling wine" itself comes from István Széchenyi, who first named the French drink "sparkling wine" in his work "The Credit".

The first sparkling wine factory was established in Bratislava by János Fischer and Dr. Mihály Schönbauer. By 1840, the factory was producing 10,000 bottles a year, and in 1877 it was taken over by the Austrian Johann E. Hubert.

Champagne consumption became increasingly popular in the country, and in the 19th century it was the first champagne to be produced in the country. At the end of the 19th century, 8 major factories were already in operation. During this period, 1.75 million bottles of sparkling wine were produced annually in the country.

Types of sparkling wine
Sparkling wine can be typified in several ways. The most common, which I'm sure everyone has come across, if not elsewhere, on the label of a champagne bottle, is the sugar content. Depending on the amount of sugar in the drink, it can be classified into the following categories:

doux: more than 50 grams per litre
demi sec: 33-50 grams per litre
dry: 17-35 grams per litre
extra dry: 12-20 grams per litre
brut: up to 15 grams/litre
extra brut: up to 6 grams/litre
brut nature: up to 3 grams/litre
The doux sparkling wine is therefore the sweetest, while brut nature contains the least residual sugar. The difference in sugar content between the two types is almost 17 times.

Taste of brut sparkling wine
Brut sparkling wine is therefore a strong contender for dry drinks, as you can see, with a sugar content of between 6 and 15 grams per litre. This is very low, only brut nature is drier in the sparkling wine category.

Brut champagne, or brut champagne as they say, is a real speciality for champagne lovers. It has a very distinctive flavour, with a strong minerality but also a softness thanks to the buttery notes. It is high in acidity but medium in alcohol.

This exceptionally dry and tasty wine is one of the most popular sparkling wines. At KIOSK you can taste a variety of brut champagnes. Ready for a taste journey?

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