Prosecco has a reputation for being sweet. Most of it isn’t. What people taste as sweetness is usually fruit: Glera, the main grape, smells of green apple, pear and white flowers, and a nose full of ripe fruit convinces the palate it’s getting sugar.
How to tell from the label
Every bottle of sparkling Prosecco carries one of six sweetness words. From driest to sweetest:
- Brut Nature and Extra Brut: bone dry to very dry. Rare in US stores.
- Brut: dry, with under 12 grams of sugar per liter. The most common choice if you like it crisp.
- Extra Dry: off-dry, 12 to 17 grams per liter. Yes, it’s sweeter than Brut.
- Dry: noticeably sweet, 17 to 32 grams per liter.
- Demi-Sec: sweet, 32 to 50 grams per liter, and hard to find in the US.
“Extra Dry” is the most misleading phrase in the wine shop. Read it as “a touch of sweetness” and you’ll never be caught out. The full Prosecco sweetness scale
Is Prosecco a dessert wine?
No. Prosecco is made as an aperitif and a food wine. The sweeter styles, Dry and Demi-Sec, can work with fruit tarts or pastries, but most bottles are dry enough for oysters and fried snacks.
Is Prosecco sweeter than Champagne?
Not by the rules. Both use the same sweetness words, and a Brut Prosecco and a Brut Champagne both have under 12 grams of sugar per liter. Prosecco can taste a little sweeter because its fresh fruit sits front and center, while Champagne’s toasty, bready notes read as drier. Much of the Prosecco on US shelves is Extra Dry, which helped the sweet reputation stick. Prosecco vs Champagne: every difference
Choosing yours
- You like it dry: look for Brut, or Extra Brut if you can find it.
- You like a softer, rounder glass: Extra Dry.
- You want it sweet, for dessert: Dry or Demi-Sec.
Both of our wines, Bella Principessa Prosecco DOC and Bella Principessa Prosecco DOC Rosé, are Brut.
Related: Is Prosecco Rosé sweet? · What’s the difference between Brut and Prosecco? · What is Prosecco?
