So what is Pet-Nat?
Pet-Nat is lightly sparkling/fizzy wine made using the so-called Ancestral method. Wine was made this way far back in history, so it's believed to be the oldest method of making sparkling wine. In this method, the wine is bottled during fermentation, and when the wine finishes fermenting in the bottle, bubbles form. Unlike conventional sparkling wines, the bubbles are created without separately adding yeast and sugar to the bottle. The tradition has been unbroken, even though it's existed as a very small tradition in the shadow of modern sparkling wines until now. Now, however, it's trendy and interesting to a wider audience. The French term 'Pétillant Naturel' has become the common abbreviation 'PET NAT'. In Italy, bottles often also read 'con fondo' because the bottles naturally contain sediment. It's typical for Pet-Nats that the sediment created during fermentation isn't removed, so the wine is cloudy. The end result is always unique, so bottle-to-bottle variation is part of it and part of the PET NAT experience. At their best, Pet-Nats are usually enjoyed young, so don't automatically stash them in the cellar to age for years.
