Pét-nat for beginners

Electric pink, burnished orange, pineapple yellow, ochre, coral, deep ruby, blood red: the possibilities are endless. But always effervescent. Pét-nat – the now widely accepted shorthand for ‘pétillant naturel’ – is a style of sparkling wine that has deep historical roots. It’s thought to be the oldest method of making sparkling wine, pre-dating Champagne, hence its alternative name: méthode ancestrale.

Unlike Champagne, which undergoes two fermentations, the second of which takes place in the bottle to create the fizz, the méthode ancestrale involves bottling the wine before it completes its first fermentation. The process continues in the bottle, capturing the resulting CO2 to produce a bubbly wine. There is no dosage (in traditional-method sparkling wines, the addition of sugar after the second fermentation to determine the final sweetness), and most are bottled using a simple crown cap, like you would see on a bottle of beer or a soft drink – although you do occasionally see some with a cork and cage.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 30 top pét-nat wines

The price point for a pét-nat is often more approachable compared to Champagne, so it offers vibrant bubbles that can be enjoyed at any time, no matter the occasion. Pét-nat as a style has experienced a new lease of life in the past 10-15 years, and has an air of lighthearted enjoyment and fun around it, tied in to the (re)emergence of natural wine.

Inside the bottle

There is no official definition or legal status for pétillant naturel wines – it is very much an informal label. Pét-nat can be made from any grape variety, in any region of any country in the world – though there are a handful of appellations in France where this style of winemaking is the norm: Limoux’s Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale, Gaillac’s Méthode Gaillacoise, the Alps’ Bugey-Cerdon and the Rhone’s Clairette de Die Tradition are pét-nats in all but name, with each having its own unique heritage, regulations and flavours.

Aromatic white varieties such as Riesling and Muscat perform well in pét-nats, as do those bringing good acidity to the wine, but juicy red grapes like Gamay can also work fantastically.

Fruitiness, freshness and extreme drinkability are usually the desired result. This is aided by the bubbles being more gentle compared to traditional-method (refermented in the bottle) sparklings, and by generally modest alcohol levels. Haziness is a signature trait, and you can expect to find some cloudiness and fine sediment in most, as they are generally unfined, unfiltered and often not disgorged (see below) .

You might find a little residual sweetness in some pét-nats, as fermentation doesn’t always fully finish in the bottle. The South African Testalonga, I Wish I Was a Ninja, with 8.5% alcohol, is fresh and aromatic with perceptible sweetness in the mouth, but it’s wonderfully drinkable and delicious.

In general, pét-nats are not made for ageing, and should be enjoyed young, shortly after bottling, when the aromatic and fruity flavours are at their biggest and brightest. Flavour and aroma profiles will vary hugely depending on region, climate and grape, but pét-nats should always be refreshing, fun and frighteningly easy to drink. In the best, there’s an energy and wildness that lifts the soul.

To disgorge or not to disgorge: the cloudy question

Most still and sparkling wines on the market today are clear and not cloudy. They are filtered and fined to remove particles and thus leave a clear liquid. In traditional-method sparkling production, after the second fermentation the bottles are riddled – gradually inverted and rotated – in order to nudge the spent yeasts down into the cap. The sediment is then removed (‘disgorged’) through a process of freezing the neck and releasing the pressure. However, some winemakers choose not to fine, filter or remove sediment, arguing that this process can strip flavour from the wine, and opinions are split over whether or not to disgorge a pét-nat.

Undisgorged pét-nats can appear with varying degrees of cloudiness and sediment. ‘A pét-nat with a nice little bit of natural sediment is the closest thing to milk straight from the cow,’ says winemaker Tim Wildman MW. There’s nothing wrong with a little cloudiness – it adds to the density, texture and mouthfeel, elongating the finish and bringing complexity, though too much sludge at the bottom of a bottle can lead to a rather challenging final glass.

Not disgorging can also have explosive results. The presence of too much sediment and/or tartrate crystals (a deposit that can occur naturally in any wine) in the final wine can lead to what is sometimes called ‘gushing’ – visceral enough to need no explanation, and leaving behind not only a sticky situation to clear up, but also only a third of the liquid left in the bottle.

Who’s making pét-nat?

Pét-nat as a category in its current form is linked to the late Loire producer Christian Chaussard, who inadvertently produced a pétillant naturel wine in the early 1990s (harking back tidily to the monks in Limoux who accidentally discovered the méthode ancestrale in the 1500s). Other Loire producers cottoned on to the style, and the Montlouis appellation added Pétillant Originel to its regulations (joining the likes of Limoux, Gaillac, Bugey and Clairette de Die), highlighting the importance of the style in the Loire.

Pét-nat is becoming increasingly widely available and its growth goes hand in hand with the resurgence of the natural wine movement. They share the same philosophy: organic or biodynamic farming, minimal to zero use of sulphur, fermenting with natural yeasts and avoiding fining and filtration. ‘It’s the only way you can make sparkling wine naturally, without having to manipulate it into a certain thing,’ says Doug Wregg of UK importer Les Caves de Pyrene.

A number of wine shops and bars now focus exclusively on natural wines, and alongside pét-nats these wines are found increasingly on the wine lists of Michelin-starred establishments. In Australia and the US, where natural wine has a strong, sympathetic following, there has been a rise in the production of pét-nats. When Tim Wildman MW made his first pét-nat in the Adelaide Hills in 2014, he says it was one of about five or six Australian versions. Now, there are probably hundreds.

Of course, as more pét-nat appears on the market, it becomes clear that not all are created equal. This is one of the simplest ways to make wine, yet it would be foolish to underestimate the winemaking instinct and skill required to get everything right.

They are at risk of the same faults that sometimes befall natural wines, such as excessive brettanomyces or volatile acidity, or, at worst, a ‘mousiness’ to the flavour. Some questionable wines do end up on the market, but the good ones really are worth shouting about.

The pét-nat future

Fred Grappe of UK wine importer Dynamic Vines notes that as Champagne gets more expensive, it makes room for other styles of sparkling wine on the market, and pét-nat slots right in. If you can get your hands on the best ones before they sell out (as they’re often made in tiny quantities), your thirst for frolicsome fizz will be quenched without having to dig too deep into your pockets.

‘It’s a really fun, accessible style of sparkling wine with more integrity than any other style of lower-priced sparkling wine’, says Alex Thorpe of UK importer and retailer Wines Under the Bonnet. Jiří Majerik of Basket Press Wines, a Central and Eastern Europe specialist importer in the UK, thinks there’s scope for the category to diversify further as producers experiment with extended lees ageing and use of different grape varieties.

You can’t make Champagne outside the Champagne region, nor Franciacorta outside Franciacorta in Lombardy, northern Italy. But you can make pét-nat anywhere.

By its very nature it’s inclusive and experimental, and at the moment it’s at the right price point to be accessible. The unpredictability of what you’ll find in the bottle is part of the fun; and when pét-nat is done well, it is uncomplicated and joyous. A vibrant, animated, exciting pét-nat, enjoyed with friends, can be one of life’s simplest but purest pleasures.

Pét-nat and food pairings

Made in myriad colours and styles, pét-nats can offer both aperitif-style sips as well as more versatile and complex matches for sweet and savoury dishes. London-based sommelier and wine consultant Amber Gardner has some food-pairing tips…

‘A dry rosé pét-nat, such as Reynald Héaulé’s flirtatious Silice en Bulles Rosé 2019 from the Loire, pairs perfectly with any ocean delight cooked on a sizzling plancha – like a big plate of fresh scallops barbecued to perfection.

‘Staying with pink bubbles, this time with a touch of sweetness, Domaine Le Roc’s Roc’Ambulle dances hand-in-hand with any feisty Mexican flavour, such as prawn tacos with vibrant herbs and piping hot chillies.

‘The Portuguese dry white Folias de Baco, Uivo PT Nat Branco 2020 from the Douro offers ripe lemon, nashi pear and mouthwatering salinity, pairing brilliantly with dishes that make the best of the summer’s garden bounty.’

Other key pét-nat producers to look out for

• Alex & Maria Koppitsch Burgenland, Austria
• Brand Bros Pfalz, Germany
• Château Barouillet Bergerac, Southwest France
• Domaine Frantz Saumon Loire, France
• Domaine Mosse Loire, France
• Intellego Swartland, South Africa
• Jauma McLaren Vale, South Australia
• Les Capriades Loire, France
• Lise & Bertrand Jousset Loire, France
• Loimer Langenlois and Gumpoldskirchen, Austria
• Tillingham Wines East Sussex, England

Pét-nat: 30 bottles that put the fun into fizz

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