What Is Pét-Nat Wine? Learn the Pétillant Naturel Method

Pétillant naturel is the oldest method of making sparkling wine. It is also known as the méthode ancestrale or ancestral method. This winemaking technique involves bottling wine that is still fermenting to trap carbon dioxide gas in the bottle, creating a gentle carbonation. Pét-nat wines (as they’re called) are becoming more popular as part of the general trend toward natural wine.

The earliest-known sparkling wines come from the area around Limoux, a town in the Pyrenees mountains of southwest France. According to local legend, the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire was producing sparkling wine in 1531. Other early sparkling wines were (and still are) made in Gaillac, a nearby region where the ancestral method is called méthode gaillacoise.

The first appellation that recognized pétillant naturel by name was the Montlouis Pétillant Naturel AOC, created in 2007 for ancestral method sparkling wine made from chenin blanc grapes in France’s Loire Valley. The Loire Valley, a region home to many winemakers working in a low-intervention, terroir-driven style, is the center of pét-nat’s current revival. Pét-nat wines from the region tend to be white or rosé styles made from chenin blanc or the red grapes gamay, cabernet franc, or grolleau.

Pétillant naturel is still most commonly made in France, but as consumer interest in minimally manipulated wines rises, winemakers in other parts of the world are trying their hand at the style. In the U.S., producers in California, Oregon, and New York’s Long Island make pét-nat wines.

The ancestral method involves only one fermentation. The wine is moved from 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 winemaking process.

Because pét-nat wines undergo only a primary fermentation, they are usually lower in alcohol, around 11-12%. They often have some sweetness from residual sugar that has not fermented completely.

The lack of a second fermentation means that these wines are less fizzy than Champagne method wines. Pétillant naturel wines have 2.5-3 atmospheres of pressure, compared with 5-7 for Champagne, resulting in a gently bubbly sparkler.

Pétillant naturel wines are usually 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. Pét-nat wines can be recognized on the shelf by their crown cap, which looks like the cap of a beer bottle.

Champagne is made in the traditional method, also called the méthode champenoise. What differentiates this method from the ancestral method is the addition of a secondary fermentation in the bottle after the first fermentation in a tank. The tank-fermented still base wine gets a dose of sugar and yeast before being put into individual bottles, which trap carbon dioxide from the second fermentation in the wine.

After the fermentation in the bottle, Champagne ages with the dead yeast cells (lees) for many months or years before the yeast is removed and the bottle is re-sealed with the classic mushroom-shaped cork. Bottle aging with the lees transforms the flavor of Champagne’s common pinot noir and chardonnay grapes into something more: toasty, nutty and brioche-like. The final sweetness level of Champagne is determined by its dosage, which is the sugar that the winemaker adds after the wine’s secondary fermentation.

Pét-nat, by contrast, is an unaged wine with a focus on fresh fruit flavors. Unlike Champagne, pét-nat is not filtered to remove the yeast, and dosage is not allowed. Because it requires less labor, time, and high-priced grapes to make, pét-nat is less expensive than Champagne.

Col fondo prosecco, a sparkling wine made in Italy, combines some elements of Champagne and pét-nat. Col fondo prosecco undergoes two fermentations, like Champagne, but the yeast cells are not filtered out, similar to pét-nat.

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