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Pet Nat? What’s the origin of this word that sounds like something out of a futuristic dystopia a la Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange? No, it’s not the cousin of Moloko Plus (the speed-drugged milk consumed by Alex and his gang in their bar), but a sparkling wine.
Pétillant Naturel, Pet Nat or Méthode Ancestrale, is a sparkling wine produced by bottling wine that is only partially fermented. The first and only fermentation takes place directly in the bottle, and the resulting CO2 is trapped. During the resting period, which lasts several months, the gas is absorbed into the wine to form bubbles: Pétillant Naturel is ready to be enjoyed.
So how does it differ from champagne and crémant? All champagnes are produced using the “méthode champenoise”. Crémants and quality sparkling wines follow the same method, but cannot be called such. So we say they follow the “traditional method”. The “méthode champenoise” involves transforming a still wine into an effervescent wine by adding a dose of yeast during bottling, after the first fermentation and racking, to convert the sugar in the must into alcohol and produce carbon dioxide.
Let’s go back to the Pet Nat production method. Once the grapes have been hand-pressed to extract the juice, alcoholic fermentation begins, then the temperature is lowered to 10° to allow the yeasts to fall asleep and stop fermentation. The juice is then bottled, and the dormant yeasts resume their work when the temperature is raised. They feed on the sugar, transforming it into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which, trapped in the bottle, dissolves in the wine. The wine is then disgorged to remove the dead yeast, recorked and the job is done!
Pet Nat is first and foremost a wine that’s accessible, that you can enjoy with friends at brunch, an aperitif, a game of pétanque… Unlike champagne, which some people buy to prove they belong to a certain class, Pet Nat is the wine that your best bobo friend will tell you is organic and natural.
Enjoy your meal!
Photo by Melissa Walker Horn / Unsplash