What is Dosage in Sparkling Wine?

Making any form of sparkling wine in the traditional method is an intricate process, and it takes time, expertise and patience. Arguably, one of the final steps in this age-old mode of production, which has the biggest impact on the wine’s flavours and quality, is the addition of dosage. But what is dosage? What does it do to a sparkling wine? And why do we need to know about it? If you enjoy a good glass of sparkling wine, then read on as we explore all you need to discover.    

 

But first, a refresher on how sparkling wine is made

    

The traditional method, AKA méthode traditionnelle, was refined in the home of fine French sparkling – Champagne – and, as one of several ways that sparkling wine can be made, it produces the highest-quality examples of the style.  

 

To start, the fruit is picked in the vineyard, pressed in the winery and then goes through its first fermentation, which creates the still base wine. Winemakers might then combine a number of these base wines to land on a winning blend to use as their foundation. This wine then gets bottled, together with a little yeast and sugar, which kickstarts that all-important secondary fermentation – this is where all those delicate bubbles turn up.  

 

Depending on the type of sparkling wine being made, bottles will sit and develop for some time. When talking about Champagne, that means anywhere from 15 months to three years or more. Here at Best’s, our Sparkling Shiraz spends at least two years in our cellar, for example, while our C.M.T. Méthode Traditionelle sits for 4 years. What’s left in the bottle at this stage is sediment, which is what gives sparkling wine its deliciously toasty notes. This then gets removed via a careful disgorging process. Once that’s done, it’s time for the dosage.  

 

What is dosage?  

Dosage is a liquid made up of sugar, or it can also be a mix of wine with sugar. Winemakers add a little of their dosage to each bottle after disgorging – usually between six to 12 millilitres or barely two teaspoons. This is not to sweeten the wine but to add complexity while ensuring the final wine strikes that perfect balance on the palate. The bottles are then sealed once more, and they generally spend another three months in the cellar, settling to allow all those flavours and characters to integrate into a seamless wine.  

 

Why is dosage needed?  

Before dosage, a sparkling wine that’s been developing for some time can be very acidic or dry, or not quite right regarding its overall flavour and balance. While sparkling wine styles vary wildly in sweetness levels, most producers aren’t striving to make overtly sweet sparkling wines. A common analogy for dosage is that of seasoning food with salt – this isn’t necessarily to make a dish taste salty, but to enhance its flavours. Similarly, winemakers use dosage to finesse their wines into the best, most balanced expressions they can be.   

 

Why does dosage need time?  

There are no shortcuts when making great wine, and that’s especially true of traditional method sparkling wines. Each step requires time, immense care and attention. Just as sparkling producers must wait for the bubble-making secondary fermentation to happen, they must also give wines the time to settle post-dosage.  

 

Best’s winemaker Jacob Parton says that dosage is a critical final step involving patience. “The way I look at it is that when you add things to the wine, you need to let it sit, create synergy and settle down,” he says. “When you add dosage, it’s like a chaotic situation, so you must give the two components time. This is why it’s so important to wait for the right time to serve it.”    

 

How we use dosage making wine at Best’s  

Here at Best’s, we produce our famed Sparkling Shiraz, with its intense blue fruit flavours, hallmark black pepper spice we see across all our shiraz wines, and a touch of aniseed. Adding to its creamy mousse and lingering acidity, the dosage helps to fine-tune this wine’s distinctively rich yet fresh mouthfeel.    

 

And with our C.M.T. Méthode Traditionelle, in previous years, our dosage has been a combination of very rare old brandy stocks, base wine and various sparkling wines from a suite of vintages. This special dosage is just one of the reasons why our C.M.T. is always such a layered, complex and enticing wine.    

 

So, this holiday season, as you prepare to enjoy our new releases, hold off and show a little patience. The wines have recently been bottled, and dosage is integrating. Christmas time is the ideal time to enjoy the rewards of these delicious sparkling wines.