what is demi sec?

[from Heather]

My husband was out shopping and he came across an Aspall demi sec. I don't know what that means, nor can I find anything on their website. A google search turned up lots of demi sec I could buy. Wikipedia wasn't exactly helpful, saying it was as 3 to 5 proof - wouldn't that be almost no alcohol?

There has got to be more to this.

Heather

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[Andrew Lea]

Demi-sec is a standard term used to describe the sugar level of
sparkling wine. Although it literally means half-dry, it is actually
rather sweet. The CIVC definition is 33 - 50 grams of sugar per litre.

In the terms in which you have encountered it, it is marketing speak for
a sweetish cider. It is not directly related to alcohol level - if you
want to know that, look on the label!

Andrew

from Heather wrote:
> My husband was out shopping and he came across an Aspall demi sec. I
> don't know what that means, nor can I find anything on their website. A
> google search turned up lots of demi sec I could buy. Wikipedia wasn't
> exactly helpful, saying it was as 3 to 5 proof - wouldn't that be almost
> no alcohol?
>
> There has got to be more to this.
>
> Heather
>

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[from Heather]

Oh boy... somebody really needs to edit Wikipedia then. It said, "Between 3° and 5° of alcohol, you get a cider that can accompany a meal of fish or meat. The French call this cider cidre demi-sec or cidre brut (classique)."


> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:56:03 +0000
> From: y...@cider.org.uk
> To: cider-w...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: [Cider Workshop] what is demi sec?

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[Andrew Lea]

You are getting into quite complex territory here. When I last reviewed
the French legislation in 1992, demi-sec for cider was for a sugar level
of 28 - 42 g/L. Brut was for sugar levels below this (<28 g/L). [The
figures I quoted earlier are for sparkling *wines* according to the CIVC
definitions which I understand are also accepted de facto for labelling
in the US]

Because of the way French cider is made (arrested fermentation rather
than back sweetening) brut and demi-sec ciders do typically have alcohol
levels between 3 and 5% ABV (not degrees proof). I do not think it is a
legal definition though.

I have not looked at the French legislation for 18 years and it may well
have changed since then. I am sure it is out there on Google for those
with the interest to search for it!

In any case these definitions will have no legal force for an English
cider selling in the USA which is why I said that in your context they
are really marketing terms. The term demi-sec is being used to imply a
cider or wine which is sweeter than 'dry'. As the words imply, it is
'half dry'.

Andrew

from Heather wrote:
> Oh boy... somebody really needs to edit Wikipedia then. It said,
> "Between 3� and 5� of alcohol, you get a cider that can accompany a meal

> of fish or meat. The French call this cider /cidre demi-sec/ or /cidre
> brut (classique)/."