How to Make Sparkling Wine Using the Méthode Ancestrale

The méthode ancestrale or ancestral method, is the oldest known method of making sparkling wine. The process goes by many names: rurale, gaillacoise, artisanale, pétillant naturel, and in some appellations, like Montlouis-sur-Loire, pétillant originel. This winemaking technique involves bottling wine partway through its primary fermentation to trap carbon dioxide gas in the bottle, creating a gentle, bubbly carbonation.

Many wines made using the ancestral method are sold unfiltered, which leaves them cloudy with some sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Some drinkers like to shake the bottle to homogenize the liquid, while others prefer to carefully pour clear wine off the sediment. Wines made using the méthode ancestrale can be recognized on the shelf by their crown cap, which looks like the cap of a beer bottle.

During the méthode ancestrale, wine is moved from a vat into individual bottles while it is still fermenting, and then sealed under a crown cap. Bubbles are created when carbon dioxide gas, a byproduct of alcoholic fermentation, gets trapped in the wine. The wine is not filtered and no dosage (sugar) is added, which is why pét-nat is considered more “natural” than other sparkling wine styles, all of which require more human intervention in the wine-making process.

Wines made using the méthode ancestrale undergo a single primary fermentation, and are usually lower in alcohol, around 11-12%. The alcohol content is low because ancestral method wine doesn’t go through a secondary fermentation process, which raises alcohol content. These wines often have some sweetness from residual sugar that has not fermented completely, resulting in an unaged wine with a focus on fresh fruit flavors.

Méthode ancestrale and méthode champenoise, the traditional method, are two sparkling wine processes that differ slightly. Ancestral method wines go through a single fermentation and are bottled before the fermentation process is completed, producing a wine with a low-alcohol content, gentle carbonation, and muted sweetness. Traditional method wines go through a second fermentation, which raises its alcohol content and creates its signature bubbles and sweet taste.

1. 1. Blanquette de Limoux: The early adopter of the ancestral method is still one of the world’s best examples of the form. In Limoux, the primary grape varieties are Mauzac, Chardonnay, and Chenin blanc, and there are three sparkling appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) désignations: Blanquette de Limoux, Blanquette méthode ancestrale, and Crémant de Limoux.
2. 2. Pétillant-naturel: After a Loire Valley-based boom in the 1990s, pétillant-naturel wines, pét-nat for short, have become more popular as part of the general worldwide trend toward natural wine. Pét-nat is considered both a modern subcategory of ancestral method wines and a shorthand for it; creative new expressions are now found everywhere from Mexico to Vermont, Australia, and beyond.
3. 3. Bugey Cerdon: This sparkling red wine is popular in the sub-appellation of the Jura region of France: Gamay and Poulsard grapes morph into fizzy, floral, eminently drinkable low-alcohol wines.

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