What is Dosage?
Dosage represents the final opportunity for a winemaker to influence the flavours and style of a traditional method wine, before corking. Typically this dosage addition (or liqueur d’expedition in French) includes a small quantity of sugar, used to enhance the fruit flavours and to round out the acidity often found in cooler climate wines. Subtle differences in the quantity of sugar used can have a major impact on the perception of fruit character and nuance of those flavour notes.
What's Included
Starting in the Vineyard, your guide will introduce you to our stunning Estate, giving you an insight into the history of Rathfinny and the important role our landscape and climate plays in the production of Sussex Sparkling. You will then be given the opportunity to conduct your own dosage trial, adding different levels of sugar to a base wine to see how this affects its final style. The experience will conclude with a guided tasting of three Rathfinny sparkling wines and one Cradle Valley still wine.
Details
- Dates: Friday 25thSeptember – Sunday 25th October 2026
- Times: 11:30 Friday, Saturday & 11:30 & 14:30 on Sunday
- Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Price: £40 per person
- Location: Cellar Door, Rathfinny Wine Estate, BN26 5TU
Learn More about Dosage
As a grower-producer, our low-dosage, vintage wines are terroir-driven, speaking to the place and time they were made to showcase the purity of the fruit. In this article, we explain the terminology of dosage in relation to the different styles of sparkling wines, from Brut to Demi-Sec.