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.