Dosage
/doˈsaʒ/
In traditional-method sparkling wine, "dosage" /doˈsaʒ/ is the precisely measured addition of a small amount of liquid—usually a mixture of wine and sugar—added to each bottle after disgorgement. This step adjusts the final sweetness level, helps balance acidity, and fine-tunes the wine’s overall style before the final cork is inserted.
Examples
- After disgorgement, the Champagne receives a dosage of 7 g/L sugar, placing it in the brut category and softening its naturally high acidity.
- The producer offers two otherwise identical cuvées: one with zero dosage (brut nature) for a very dry, mineral style, and one with a higher dosage for a rounder, more approachable profile.
- For a demi-sec sparkling wine intended to accompany desserts, the winemaker applies a relatively high dosage to create a distinctly sweet yet still refreshing wine.
Etymology
Borrowed from French "dosage," meaning the act of apportioning or measuring out a dose, from "dose" (a measured quantity), via Medieval Latin "dosis" and ultimately Ancient Greek "δόσις" (dosis), meaning "a giving, a portion." Champagne producers in the 19th century adopted the term to describe the carefully measured sweetened liquid added after disgorgement, and it later entered broader sparkling-wine terminology in English with the same technical sense.