It’s unclear when effervescence in wine morphed from annoyance to asset. Contrary to Champagne’s beloved origin story, the Dom’s excited “Come quickly, I am tasting stars!” was probably closer to “Crap, bubbles again” when, with warm weather in the spring, fermentation spontaneously re-combusted in the still wine he was trying to make. What is known is that in the 1530s, more than 100 years before Pérignon converted to the bubbles-as-asset camp and helped refine Champagne’s traditional two-fermentation method, an older technique—méthode ancestrale—was employed (by monks, wouldn’t you know) to keep bubbles in the bottle instead of out.
Broadly speaking, the wine is purposely bottled before the yeast has consumed all the sugar in the primary fermentation, the bottle is sealed with a crown cap and the CO2 created as the fermentation continues is trapped. What’s old is new again, as they say. At a time when interest is up for all things natural, the Pétillant Naturel wines created by this decidedly noninterventionist method are all the rage, with producers from France to Texas creating delightful bottles.
There are potential pitfalls in the process. While winemakers can pause the fermentation at a desired point (cold winter weather did this in the old days) and even filter the partially fermented wine before bottling, once the cap is on and the fermentation continues, the interaction of the remaining yeast and sugar is somewhat out of their hands. And without being disgorged at the end of the process (most aren’t), some cloudy lees remain. After some 40 years in the business of wine, Anne Moller-Racke (who formerly developed The Donum Estate, before that was VP of vineyard operations for Buena Vista and now owns Blue Farm Wines), sees this as a good thing. “Typical winemaking is so much about control,” she says, “from temperature to the fermentation and aging process. With this wine, every bottle is different. It is its own little universe. This wine is more about letting go.”
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Broc Cellars 2019 Chenin Blanc Pétillant Wine Paso Robles
Image Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Petillant Wine For this sparkling Chenin, Berkeley producer Broc Cellars draws on Paso’s Shell Creek Vineyard, planted all the way back in 1972. Delicate honeysuckle opens on the nose, layered with white peach and savory minerality. The palate ditches the delicate part, with a burst of juicy fruit—apple, apricot, peach and creamy lemon—evolving into an exotic dried-fruit character on a satisfyingly dry finish.
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Domaine de Montrieux Goût à Goutte Hop Hop Hop Loire Wine Vin de France
This Chenin Blanc Pét-Nat from Loire Valley producer Montrieux is one of the most elegant in this lineup. Having spent several years on the lees (and then disgorged), it opens with brioche aromas, joined by honeysuckle, apple and almonds. The palate is long, delivering honeyed stone fruit—peach and apricot—with hints of candied orange peel.
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William & Chris 2019 Pétillant Naturel Rosé Texas
Image Credit: Photo: Kirsten Kaiser Photography This slightly wild (that’s a good thing) rosé from William & Chris involves, in descending order by volume, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese, Malvasia Bianca, Grenache, Cinsault, Moscato Giallo, Merlot and Trebbiano. Exuberant aromas of strawberries, just separated from their dusty leaves, waft over apricot and crushed fresh herbs. A rosy haze is clue to weight, density and a mouthful of textures, layered with ripe red berry and cherry flavors set off by a floral character on one hand and zesty citrus on the other, leaning even into kumquat territory.
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Domaine Frantz Saumon La Petite Gaule du Matin Sparkling Loire Wine Vin de France
This blend of Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire’s Frantz Saumon, with gentle, refreshing bubbles, shows off the very pretty side of a good Pétillant Naturel. A noseful of fall apple and pear aromas builds to ripe peach layered with almond blossom and minerals against a fresh ocean-breeze backdrop. Creamy lemon and orange peel on the palate add a gamut of citrus that lingers and ends on a light-hearted note.
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Donkey & Goat 2019 Dommen Vineyard Sparkling Pinot Meunier Russian River
Image Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Pet Nat Ditch your reference points for this Pét-Nat Pinot Meunier from Berkeley’s Donkey & Goat. One of the traditional Champagne varieties, the Meunier in this case brings spicy and briary red fruit to the party, joined on the nose by lemongrass and fresh herbs. A very barely sweet palate delivers more ripe red fruit, touches of stone fruit, marzipan and Orange Creamsicle, with the sweetness in refreshing balance. Worth noting is that Donkey & Goat makes a “Lily’s” Sparkling Chardonnay Pét-Nat every year too and the 2019 is a citrusy party in a bottle. Bring on the fried chicken.
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Fathers & Daughters Cellars 2018 Sarah’s Rustic Bubbles Sparkling Chardonnay Anderson Valley
The yeasty bubbles in this rustic gem from Mendocino producer Fathers & Daughters are enthusiastic enough to erupt from the bottle when you pop off the crown cap. Do this early in the day because, with that baked bread character, the wine is a knockout with fresh-baked croissants. Lovely florals exude with the bread, along with juicy apple and pithy Buddha’s Hand citrus aromas. Textures dance in the mouth, carrying more apple and hints of apricot against a backdrop of Meyer lemon and wet river stones—none of it marred by the wine’s gentle haze.
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Scribe 2019 Arrowhead Slope Riesling Pétillant Naturel Sonoma Valley
Image Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Scribe Precise and beautiful carbonation shows on the first pour of this Riesling Pét-Nat from Scribe. The wine is incredibly aromatic, with an entire bouquet revealed on the first whiff—rose petals, jasmine and honeysuckle combine with ripe peach. A mix of orchard fruit and tropical flavors follows, with baked apple set off by exotic citrus. In spite of the lovely fruit, the wine finishes dry, with a lingering, pleasant yeastiness.
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Albatross Ridge 2019 Pétillant Naturel Rosé Pinot Noir Monterey County
Image Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Albatross Ridge Funky meets refined in this rosé from Monterey’s Albatross Ridge. Wild strawberry sets a pretty tone, opening with a hint of cinnamon and garden-fresh rose petals. The palate doesn’t take a sweet path with those notes, though. This one is decidedly savory, dry and crisp, with intense raspberry and cherry flavors punched up by lemon-lime zest and seasoned with dried herbs.
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Blue Farm 2019 Cold Creek Vineyard Pinot Gris Pétillant Naturel Carneros
Image Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Blue Farm Here’s the sophisticated face of Pét-Nats, from Anne Moller-Racke’s Blue Farm. Energetic bubbles come alive in the glass, clearing the very barely cloudy pale-straw wine. Meyer lemon and peach pop on the nose, along with yeasty fresh brioche. The flavors are tart and dry, with apple and apricot layered over minerality. There’s substance and length here, if also a little funkiness; the wine is raw but refined.
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Birichino 2019 Pétulant Naturel Malvasia Bianca Monterey
Image Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Birichino No, that’s not a typo in the name—the partners at Birichino admit they didn’t play by the “Pétillant” rules, so they’ve gone for “Pétulant” instead (and a very petulant plant on the label). You might say their first version was an accident—the result of a long-forgotten bottle of Malvasia Bianca juice at the back of the fridge, then forgotten again on the counter. When they noticed it had started fermenting, they added it to some still Malvasia Bianca and bottled it. Voilà! A beautiful, dry sparkler in a couple of months. Now, they freeze some juice every year to add to finished wine, creating this entirely unconventional “Pétulant” Malvasia. Wildly aromatic, the nose brims with tropical flowers (think hibiscus on a warm night), exotic yuzu citrus, ripe stone fruit and almond notes. All of this raises the expectation of sweetness to follow, but not at all—the wine is dry, with orange peel, peach and lychee flavors wrapped in continuing florals through a surprisingly bracing finish.
