Our friend Stefano sent us a question about sparkling wines: how do i know if a sparkling is dry or sweet?

Well, dear Sfefano, your question is interesting! There are many kinds of sparkling and getting to know them better it's a good thing to do.
Here you are the names that you can find on the labels, with their amount of residual sugar:

Pas dosé  < 1

Brut nature < 3

Extra brut < 6

Brut

Extra dry 12-20

Dry o Secco 18-35

Demi sec o Abboccato 33-50

Dolce o Doux > 50

Pas-dosè and brut nature do not have residual sugar and they have a strong palate. Brut refers to a dry sparkling, with a very low amount of residual sugar. In a Dry the sugar starts to notice, while a Extra-Dry is in the middle between brut and dry. In Demi-sec the residual sugar is higher, and in the Doux you can totally feel the sugar.

You need a good memory in order to sort this out, but we are very sure about something: next time that you will drink a Brut or a Dry, you will know what the difference is between them :-)

Cheers!

VM