It may come as a surprise that sugar can be added in the process of making wines. With one notable exception, this is added before fermentation and contributes more to the alcohol level than the sweetness of the finished wine. That notable exception is champagne and the sugar used in dosage.
When champagne had been disgorged, the empty space left by the process is filled with the liqueur de dosage, a mixture of champagne base wine and basically sugar, like what you put in your tea. It can be as concentrated as 500g/L of sugar, which is exceedingly sweet. The amount of sugar added depends upon the final "sweetness" of the champagne, from Brut, through Demi-Sec to Doux. Most of the champagnes we see are Brut. Some make good Demi-Secs too, but I have yet to see, let alone taste a sample of Doux champagne! Sometimes they leave out the sugar altogether, giving the "Ultra Brut" or "Zero Dosage" champagnes. However, sugar is not only for sweetness, it is essential to post-disgorgement development of the wine!! Come to think of it, I have actually experienced the difference that various sugar levels make to what started off as essentially the same champagne, but that's for another day!
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