What's a Pet Nat?

You’ve probably heard about Pet Nats: the effervescent vinos that are a tad funky, pretty fruity, and always unique. But what are they?

The name gives a clue. Pet Nat is short for Petillant Naturel, meaning “natural bubbles.” It's a modern twist on the Ancestral Method of sparkling wine production.

Let’s step back to cover the basics of how bubbles get into wine. When yeasts convert sugar into alcohol, they also give off carbon dioxide. In a normal fermentation, the CO2 just blows away. But if you seal it in, then the wine absorbs it!

Nearly all sparkling wine today is made via the Charmat Method or Traditional Method (aka Methode Champenoise), which both require a second fermentation where the winemaker makes the wine to the desired style, then re-ferments in a sealed environment. This is done either in a sealed tank (Charmat Method) or in the bottle itself (Traditional Method).

Pet Nat, on the other hand, utilize a single fermentation. In the past, this usually happened by accident. A cold front would come through, bringing the fermenting wine to a temperature too cold for the yeast and stalling fermentation. Winemakers thought this meant the wine was ready to bottle. By spring, when the cellar warmed up, the fermentation would start again. In the best case, this meant tasty wine with bubbles. However, it often meant many of the bottles exploded! Thankfully, we now have a firm grasp on what's happening (and bottles strong enough to handle the pressure)!

Now you know! Come grab this month’s Wine Club, Supernatural Selections, and taste one for yourself!