Dosage Levels — Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Sec, Sec, Demi-Sec, Doux

Traditional-method sparkling wine gets its bubbles from a second fermentation in the bottle, and dosage is added after that fermentation. In Champagne, a primary fermentation in tanks first turns the must into wine, and when it is complete there should not be any sugar left in the wine. A liqueur de tirage, a solution of yeasts, sugar and wine, is then added to the cuvée to trigger the second fermentation in the bottle, the prise de mousse. As the wine ages, the lees (essentially deposits of dead yeast cells) are collected in the neck of the bottle by riddling and then ejected at disgorgement, by machine or by hand. Immediately after disgorgement, the bottle is topped up with a dosage liqueur, or liqueur d'expédition, a mixture of cane sugar and wine whose quantity varies with the style of Champagne. The DOP Cava rules describe the same moment: each bottle is refilled at once to restore its initial volume, with the same sparkling wine and, where used, the expedition liqueur, and is closed with its final cork. The dosage not only tops up the wine; it also helps balance the acidity and add sweetness. As all the yeasts have been consumed or expelled by the point of disgorgement, there is no chance of a third fermentation in the bottle.

• Liqueur de tirage (yeasts, sugar and wine) starts the second fermentation; the liqueur d'expédition is the dosage added after disgorgement
• In Champagne, the quantity of sugar in the dosage liqueur is what determines the type of wine: brut, sec, demi-sec and so on
• Under the DOP Cava rules, adding the expedition liqueur may not raise the acquired alcohol by more than 0.5% vol

In the EU, the sugar terms for sparkling wine, aerated sparkling wine, quality sparkling wine and quality aromatic sparkling wine are set by Article 47 and Annex III Part A of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, which repealed Regulation (EC) No 607/2009. One of the listed terms must appear on the label. The regulation words the bands this way: brut nature, less than 3 grams per litre; extra brut, between 0 and 6; brut, less than 12; extra dry, between 12 and 17; sec, between 17 and 32; demi-sec, between 32 and 50; and doux, greater than 50 grams per litre. Brut nature, and its equivalents pas dosé and dosage zéro, may be used only for wines to which no sugar has been added after the secondary fermentation. Sugar content is expressed in terms of fructose, glucose and sucrose, and where a wine's sugar content fits two of the terms, only one of them may be chosen. The sugar content may not differ by more than 3 grams per litre from what appears on the product label. Despite its name, extra dry is sweeter than brut. Each row of the EU list also carries equivalent terms in other languages, including naturherb, herb and trocken, dosaggio zero, secco and dolce.

• Brut nature (also pas dosé, dosage zéro; naturherb): less than 3 g/L, no sugar added after the secondary fermentation
• Extra brut (also extra herb): between 0 and 6 g/L
• Brut (also herb): less than 12 g/L
• Extra dry (also extra sec; extra trocken): between 12 and 17 g/L
• Sec (also dry; trocken; secco): between 17 and 32 g/L
• Demi-sec (also halbtrocken): between 32 and 50 g/L
• Doux (also sweet; mild; dolce): greater than 50 g/L

In Champagne, the liqueur de dosage (d'expédition) is a solution of still wine from Champagne and cane sugar that is added after disgorgement, and the quantity of sugar added is what determines the type of wine. The sugar in a dosage can take the form of cane, beet or grape sugar. Appellation rules can narrow what goes in. Under the DOP Cava rules, the expedition liqueur may contain only sucrose, grape must, partially fermented grape must, concentrated grape must, rectified concentrated grape must, base wine, or a mixture of these, with wine distillate added where used, and adding it may not raise the acquired alcohol by more than 0.5% vol. The 2017 Franciacorta DOCG rulebook forbids generic or IGT wine in the dosage liqueur: only wine suitable for making DOCG Franciacorta is allowed. Producers then choose the level. Some, after arriving at a preferred dosage, keep the same (or as near as) for each vintage or across their range, in a bid to create a house style; others vary the dosage to suit the style of the vintage, tasting different permutations every year. When Decanter joined the Rathfinny Wine Estate team in East Sussex for its 2019 dosage tasting, each wine was tried from 0 g/L to 6 g/L, the Blanc de Blancs settled on 3 g/L and the Blanc de Noirs on 3.5 g/L, and owner Mark Driver called dosage 'like seasoning', adding: 'Too sweet, and the dosage will shorten the length and flatten the fruit flavours'.

• Champagne: still wine from Champagne and cane sugar
• DOP Cava: sucrose, grape musts (including rectified concentrated grape must), base wine or a mixture, with wine distillate where used; no more than 0.5% vol of alcohol added
• Franciacorta DOCG (2017 rulebook): no generic or IGT wine in the dosage liqueur
• A dosage can be held steady across vintages for a house style, or varied with each vintage

Dosage is not a simple sweetness dial. Decanter's Tom Hewson writes that sugar interacts with acidity, astringency, alcohol, body and aroma to create impressions of sweetness or dryness that can run counter to the actual sugar level in the wine, and that a zero-dosage wine almost always keeps a small amount of unfermentable sugar, usually less than 1 g/L but often more. Champagne Henriot's cellar master Alice Tétienne found this in the dosage trials for Cuvée Hemera 2013: 'You would think that a wine that is fresher, with high acidity, would need more dosage, but sometimes the sugar seems to accentuate the acid'. Francis Egly of Champagne Egly-Ouriet puts it another way: 'Dosage is like a sprinkle of salt', a comparison often heard in the region. On a Decanter panel of Extra Brut and Brut Nature Champagnes, Simon Field MW said of the style that 'there is nowhere to hide; you really are exposing everything', and all the tasters questioned its long-term ageability, concluding that it is an unknown quantity since the style is so new.

• Sugar interacts with acidity, astringency, alcohol, body and aroma, so perceived sweetness can differ from the sugar figure
• A zero-dosage wine can still keep a little unfermentable sugar
• 'Dosage is like a sprinkle of salt' is a comparison often heard in Champagne

An analysis of 168 bottles of Champagne found in a 19th-century shipwreck off the Finnish coast in 2010, led by Professor Philippe Jeandet of the University of Reims and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that the wines contained around 150 g per litre of residual sugar. The research paper also cites letters between Madame Clicquot and her agent in St Petersburg recording a Russian request for a sugar dosage of nearly 300 g per litre, while Clicquot archive documents suggest the British and Americans preferred between 22 g and 66 g per litre. Decanter's history of British influence on Champagne points the turn to dry wine to London: in 1848 a merchant named Burnes asked to taste Perrier-Jouët's 1846 vintage without a dosage of sugar, and the wine, shared at a military club, was a disaster. In 1860 several firms sent British merchants some 1857 Champagne that was drier and more mature than usual, it was received very favourably, and by the time the 1874 vintage was released, virtually all major houses were crafting dry examples, more or less in the brut style, for the British market. Dosage has come down: on the Decanter panel, Simon Field MW put the Champagne category average at around 9 g/L, down from an average of 12 g/L over the past 10 or 15 years.

• 19th-century shipwreck Champagne (PNAS analysis): around 150 g per litre of residual sugar
• 1848: Perrier-Jouët's 1846 vintage sent to London without a dosage
• 1874 vintage: virtually all major houses making dry, broadly brut-style wines for the British market

Champagne labels must state the sugar content (dosage: brut, sec, demi-sec and so on) alongside the designation AOC Champagne, and the Champagne bands match the EU list, from Brut Nature, Pas Dosé or Dosage Zéro (less than 3 grams of sugar per litre) to Doux (more than 50 grams). Non-vintage Champagne Brut is the most common Champagne. Under the regulations, non-vintage Champagne must be aged in a cellar for at least 15 months and vintage Champagne for at least 3 years from the date on which it is bottled. Sources word the bands differently: the EU regulation speaks of a wine's sugar content, while the Comité Champagne glossary and Decanter describe the bands as sugar added, and Decanter notes that a brut nature wine may contain a little natural residual sugar. The DOP Cava rules list Brut Nature (under 3 g/l, with no added sugar), Extra brut (0 to 6 g/l), Brut (under 12 g/l), Extra seco (12 to 17 g/l), Seco (17 to 32 g/l), Semi-seco (32 to 50 g/l) and Dulce (over 50 g/l). Every Cava stays at least nine months on its lees in the same bottle; Reserva needs at least 18 months from tirage to disgorgement, Gran Reserva 30 months and Paraje Calificado 36 months, and Gran Reserva and Paraje Calificado may be labelled only Brut Nature, Extra Brut or Brut. Prosecco DOC is made mainly from Glera. WSET calls Prosecco the most widely recognised tank method sparkling wine, and describes the tank method (also known as the Charmat method) as a second fermentation that takes place in a sealed stainless-steel tank rather than in bottle. Prosecco DOC Spumante comes in six terms: Brut Nature (0 to 3 g/litre), Extra Brut (0 to 6), Brut (below 12), Extra Dry (12 to 17), Dry (17 to 32) and Demi-sec (32 to 50 g/litre). The 2017 Franciacorta DOCG rulebook allows Franciacorta and Franciacorta Rosé in dosage zero, extra brut, brut, extra dry, sec and demi-sec, in line with the EU sugar levels; vintage Franciacorta runs from dosage zero to extra dry, and Satèn may be marketed only as brut. In France, Crémant wines are also made by the traditional method in several regions. Some sparkling wines are made differently: Asti Spumante and Moscato d'Asti often involve just one fermentation, and pét-nats are bottled while still undergoing their first fermentation, which finishes in the bottle.

• Champagne: the label must state the sugar content; non-vintage at least 15 months in the cellar, vintage at least 3 years, from bottling
• DOP Cava: Brut Nature to Dulce, same figures as the EU list; Gran Reserva (30 months) and Paraje Calificado (36 months) only Brut Nature, Extra Brut or Brut
• Prosecco DOC Spumante: six terms, Brut Nature to Demi-sec
• Franciacorta DOCG (2017 rulebook): dosage zero to demi-sec; vintage up to extra dry; Satèn brut only
• Asti Spumante and Moscato d'Asti often involve just one fermentation; pét-nats finish their first fermentation in the bottle

Primary sources (European Union law on EUR-Lex; Comité Champagne; Consorzio Prosecco DOC; Consejo Regulador DOP Cava; Franciacorta DOCG rulebook): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019R0033, https://www.champagne.fr/en/champagne-frequently-asked-questions, https://www.champagne.fr/en/glossary, https://www.prosecco.wine/en/prosecco/discover/types/, https://www.cava.wine/documents/615/Pliego_de-CondicionesDOPCAVA.pdf, https://www.cava.wine/es/origen/elaboracion-del-cava/, https://franciacorta.wine/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EN-disciplinare_2017_en.pdf. Secondary sources (Decanter; WSET): https://www.decanter.com/learn/dosage-behind-the-scenes-497768/, https://www.decanter.com/learn/advice/what-the-difference-between-tirage-and-dosage-in-champagne-382613/, https://www.decanter.com/wine/tom-hewson-dosage-is-like-a-sprinkle-of-salt-545800/, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/shipwreck-champagne-shows-19th-century-europe-s-sweet-tooth-848/, https://www.decanter.com/features/how-britain-shaped-the-wine-world-245518/3/, https://www.decanter.com/decanter-best/dry-champagne-panel-tasting-results-285880/, https://www.wsetglobal.com/news-insights/insight-opinion/a-guide-to-sparkling-wine-production-methods-and-regional-styles/. Last verified 2026-11-09