Dosage: The Final Touch in Sparkling Wine Production

Dosage is the small amount of sweetened wine, known as liqueur d'expédition, added to a traditional-method sparkling wine after disgorgement, according to WSET. When a Champagne bottle is opened to expel its frozen plug of sediment, a small amount of wine is forced out, and during dosage the bottle is topped up with a mixture of cane sugar and wine, the Comité Champagne explains. The OIV defines dosage as a liqueur that can be added to sparkling wine immediately before the final closure of the bottle, made of wine, grape must or a blend of the two, with added sugar and possibly wine spirit and various additives; its stated objective is to obtain certain sensory characteristics and the various types of sparkling wine. The Comité Champagne dates the first sugar additions to bottled Champagne to the end of the 18th century, and credits Jean-Baptiste François, a Châlons-based pharmacist, with developing a reliable method in 1837 for measuring the amount of sugar to be added to wine for optimal effervescence.

• The Brut Nature category, with no added sugar and under 3 g/L of sugar, is one of the seven sugar-content terms in EU Delegated Regulation 2019/33, which lists pas dosé and dosage zéro as equivalent terms
• Jancis Robinson noted in 2014 that the Brut limit of less than 12 g/l used to be 15 g/l
• Jancis Robinson wrote in 2014 that one reason dosage levels used to be so much higher was that non-vintage wines were released with less bottle age, so they needed the sweetness to make them palatable

WSET says dosage adjusts the final sweetness level and plays an important role in balancing acidity and overall style. Decanter adds that the liqueur tops up the wine after disgorgement as well as balancing the acidity and adding sweetness. Rathfinny Wine Estate owner Mark Driver told Decanter that dosage is 'like seasoning' and that 'we use it to enhance the existing profile of the wine without adding new flavours and textures.' Jancis Robinson wrote in 2014 that in all wines sugar is in a delicate counterbalance with acidity, and that a little dissolved sugar in Champagne not only counterbalances the high acidity but helps to protect the wine from oxidation.

• Driver told Decanter that sugar is a preservative and that, in his view, wines with zero dosage do not develop as well in bottle; he also warned that with too sweet a dosage, 'the dosage will shorten the length and flatten the fruit flavours.'
• Jancis Robinson reported in 2014 that Benoît Gouez of Moët & Chandon experimented with reducing sweetness levels to 2-3 g/l but found that the wines aged too rapidly
• Jancis Robinson noted in 2014 that bottle age can compensate for sugar: the older the champagne, the less obvious the acidity and the less added sugar is needed

EU Delegated Regulation 2019/33 makes a sugar-content term compulsory on the label of sparkling wines, and the actual sugar content may not differ by more than 3 grams per litre from what appears on the label. The seven categories are: Brut Nature or Zero Dosage (0-3 g/L, no sugar added), Extra Brut (0-6 g/L), Brut (up to 12 g/L), Extra Dry (12-17 g/L), Sec (17-32 g/L), Demi-Sec (32-50 g/L), and Doux (over 50 g/L). The regulation's own wording is more precise at the dry end: Brut Nature requires a sugar content of less than 3 grams per litre and may be used only for products to which no sugar has been added after the secondary fermentation, and Brut requires less than 12 grams per litre. If a wine's sugar content justifies two of the terms, only one of them may be chosen.

• Extra Dry (12-17 g/L) is actually sweeter than Brut; WSET calls this confusing and says Extra Dry is a term most commonly seen on Prosecco labels
• Decanter reports that Brut is the most common level of sweetness for Champagne and English sparkling wines, and the Comité Champagne calls non-vintage Brut the most common Champagne
• Decanter's Tim Hall notes that Champagne does not add up the sugar in the dosage and the sugar already in the bottle before disgorgement; a separate Decanter guide by Amy Wislocki adds that a wine classified as Brut Nature may contain a little natural residual sugar (up to 3g/L)

Decanter's Amy Wislocki reports that some producers, after arriving at a preferred dosage, stick to the same level for each vintage or across their range to create a house style, while others vary it according to the style of the vintage. At Rathfinny Wine Estate in East Sussex, Decanter joined the team tasting the 2019 Blanc de Blancs at dosages from 0g/L to 6g/L (typically the upper end for Rathfinny); the team settled on 3g/L, and the same process for the 2019 Blanc de Noirs arrived at 3.5g/L. Jancis Robinson reported in 2014 that Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial had a sweetness level of more than 13 g/l when Benoît Gouez arrived as chef de cave in 1998, and that it had been steadily reduced, as at most of the big champagne houses, to around 9 g/l.

• Jancis Robinson reported in 2014 that Louis Roederer chef de cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon said average residual sugars had fallen by around 3-4 g/l for all Roederer champagnes
• Jancis Robinson reported in 2014 that Gouez had reduced residual sugar to 6 g/l for the 2006 vintage Moët, two-thirds of the level in the non-vintage Brut Impérial
• Decanter reported that the Rathfinny team found clear differences in overall balance from just 0.5g/L either way when setting the 2019 dosages

In Champagne, disgorgement comes first: the bottle neck is plunged into a solution at approximately -27°C so the sediment forms a frozen plug, which the pressure inside the bottle expels when it is opened, according to the Comité Champagne. The dosage liqueur then tops the bottle up. The Comité Champagne says the quantity of liqueur depends on the type of Champagne being made, that a very neutral liqueur is used to keep as much of the wine's personality and integrity as possible, and that a liqueur containing a reserve wine can be used to add other aromas. Immediately after dosage, the wine is corked with a cork stopper held in place by a wire cage known as a muselet. The bottle is then shaken vigorously to mix the wine with the liqueur (poignettage) and inspected for limpidity (mirage) before cellaring for another few months.

• The OIV lists sulphur dioxide, ascorbic acid, metatartaric acid, sorbic acid and citric acid as the additives that may be added to the dosage
• Under the OIV code, the dosage may be added either in bottles at filling or in the closed tank after fermentation and before bottling
• The 2019 Rathfinny samples tasted by Decanter had been disgorged in November and had spent a few months under cork, giving the sugar a chance to integrate with the wine

The Comité Champagne suggests a Champagne that is not too vinous for pre-dinner drinks, such as a non-vintage Brut or non-vintage Blanc de Blancs, served with lightly salted crackers, nuts, green olives and bite-sized pieces of Gruyère cheese. It says a non-vintage Brut, the most common Champagne, can be served with a main course and enjoyed throughout a meal, whatever the type of dish. For dessert, it recommends a sweeter Champagne, sec or demi-sec.

• Demi-Sec (32-50 g/L) and Sec pair with sweet desserts and puddings, creamy or fruit-based desserts and sweet pastries, according to the Comité Champagne
• The Comité Champagne advises avoiding chocolate desserts with a sec or demi-sec Champagne

Primary sources (Comité Champagne, EU law, WSET and OIV): https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/how-champagne-is-made/dosage, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R0033, https://www.champagne.fr/en/champagne-frequently-asked-questions?nid=608, https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/how-champagne-is-made/disgorgement, https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/how-champagne-is-made/corking-shaking-and-final-inspection, https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/champagne-and-its-history, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2026/a-guide-to-sparkling-wine-production-methods-and-regional-styles, https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2021/october/19/making-traditional-method-sparkling-wines, https://www.oiv.int/standards/international-code-of-oenological-practices/part-ii-oenological-treatments-and-practices/special-wines:-sparkling-wines. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/learn/dosage-behind-the-scenes-497768/, https://www.decanter.com/learn/advice/whats-difference-brut-nature-zero-dosage-373922/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/champagne-now-older-and-drier. Last verified 2026-09-24