sec [SEHK]
This French word literally means “dry,” which in the wine world means “not sweet.” When used to describe still (non-sparkling) wines, sec indicates that the wine has little if any residual sugar left after fermentation. In sparkling wines like Champagne, however, the word takes on quite another meaning: sec indicates a relatively sweet wine, whereas demi-sec is even sweeter. Drier sparkling wines are referred to as brut and the very driest as extra brut or brut nature. See also dry
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.