Spring 2023 | Drink Tank

Naturally Bubbly

Pét-nat is your excuse to pop a bottle mid-week.

Hot take: Bubbles should not be reserved for special occasions. And with the continued rise of the more-affordable, less-pretentious sparkling wine known as pétillant naturel — or pét-nat, for short — there’s no excuse not to pop a bottle on a humble Tuesday.

A French term that translates in English to “naturally sparkling,” pét-nat encompasses a wide range of sparkling wine that is bottled during initial fermentation. As the yeast continues to eat the sugar from the grapes in the bottle, alcohol and carbon dioxide are produced, creating a naturally carbonated wine. Referred to as méthode ancestrale, the process has been around much longer than that which creates Champagne and other sparkling wine.

Champagne is crafted with a finished wine that has already undergone initial fermentation. Using only Chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier grapes from Champagne, France, the wine is aged in a bottle with additional yeast and sugar, which traps the carbon dioxide inside to create its crisp bubbles. Alternatively, Prosecco and less-pricy bottles of sparkling wine usually undergo secondary fermentation in large batches, not bottles, and can even be force-carbonated.

Compared to its fellow sparkling wines, pét-nat is a wild card. It is made from a wide variety of grapes, and the end result can be unpredictable. It’s part of what makes the category so interesting, explains Allison Yonto, owner of Tahoe Wine Collective in Tahoe City.

“With a pét-nat, you’re not always 100 percent sure you’re going to get this crisp, clean wine. You might get a little unfiltered funkiness to it, but it’s a lot of fun. Some almost have a sour beer quality to them,” Yonto explains. “You can get pét-nats that have a rosé quality, or an orange wine quality, or white wine characteristics. You can taste anything from lemon zest to dried cranberries.”

Generally sealed with a crown cap, pét-nats are a unique option to pop for cocktail hour or dinner. With a lower alcohol content — roughly 8 to 12 percent ABV compared to wine’s average of 12 to 15 percent — a pét-nat also is a great selection for brunch, Yonto adds. Chill one overnight or for at least 30 minutes in an ice bucket.

Though pét-nats always have had a spot on your wine shop’s shelves, the funky sparkly wine is experiencing a revival.

“We’ve sold it since the beginning, but [with] learning about wines that are made by small producers, organic farming, and fewer-additive winemaking, [it] has become more popular. Plus, they’re really accessible wines,” says Ty Martin, owner of Craft Wine & Beer in Reno.

If you’re unsure of where to start in the pét-nat world, Martin recommends looking at the alcohol content. The lower-ABV bottles, between 8 and 10 percent, tend to be sweeter — often a divisive characteristic of wine. Otherwise, lean on the expertise of your vintner.

“They are versatile and fun. If you have one and you don’t like it, don’t rule out the category,” Martin says. “If you have one you love, you’ve got to do a little investigation with every bottle.”

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Pop these pét-nats

Francois de Nicolay, Objectif Bulles Pétillant Naturel
Made with 100 percent Chardonnay grapes, Objectif Bulles hails from the Burgundy region of eastern France. The unfiltered sparkling wine features a light fizz with notes of apple and pear. “It has a cool cartoony label, so it not only fulfills the playful box, but it is a serious wine,” Martin says, adding, “It’s a gorgeous wine.”

Ca’dei Zago Valdobbiadene Prosecco
Refermented in the bottle, this lightly bubbled wine from Veneto, Italy, wafts scents of citrus, orchard fruit, and bread. “You get some cloudiness and sediment, which some people like to mix in,” Martin explains. “It’s a rustic form of Prosecco that’s dry and floral. It’s really delicious and wonderful.”

Onward Wines Pétillant Naturel
Made with malvasia bianca, Onward’s pét-nat is crafted in the Suisun Valley, just east of Napa Valley. “It’s dry but still has some nice bready notes and a little bit of that lemony aspect to it,” Yonto describes. “It has melon rind, lemon zest, and some soft orange blossom notes. It’s great for pre-dinner because it goes with all types of appetizers.”

Furlani Macerato
Macerato is a beautiful pink-orange sparkling pinot grigio from mountainous Trentino, Italy. Combining the methods of Champagne and pét-nat, the fermented wine is left out in the snow to clarify during the winter, after which a small amount of frozen must is added to the bottles in spring for refermentation. “It has hints of cranberry, but it’s really soft so it’s not overly tart,” Yonto says. “It has a little bit of the sour beer quality.”