By: David Ulrich
Pétillant naturel (naturally bubbly) is the oldest method of making sparkling wine. It is also known as the méthode ancestrale or ancestral method. Though this approach to making fizzy wine originated in southwestern France in the 1500s.
This winemaking technique involves bottling wine that is still fermenting to trap carbon dioxide gas in the bottle, creating a gentle carbonation. Pét-nat wines (as they are called) are becoming more popular as part of the general trend toward natural wine.
The result is softly fizzy, sometimes lightly sweet from residual grape sugars, usually hazy with unfiltered yeast particles, and typically sealed with a crown cap instead of a cork.
By nature, Pét-nats are casual. They are easygoing. They didn’t brush their hair when they got up, and they threw on yesterday’s jeans because, really, who cares? Some pét-nats are downright funky. On the other hand, some are as clean and precise as can be.
Our Featured Pét-nats This Month:
- Raza
- Naken
- Bajta
- Birichino
- Tropo
- Mousse
