PetNat - a naturally sparkling wine pleasure

Fermentation of wine in the champagne bottle

"The production of PetNats is based on a very old form of sparkling wine production. To do this, a fermenting wine is poured into a champagne bottle and closed with a crown cap. In this way, the carbonic acid produced during the ongoing fermentation process remains in the bottle and a sparkling wine is created," explains Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute (DWI). This usually has a carbon dioxide pressure of over three bar. There are also sparkling wines made in this way, which only have a maximum pressure of 2.5 bars.

Fruity in taste and aroma

PetNats often sparkle naturally in the glass if the yeast has not been removed beforehand, as is the case with classic sparkling wine. They can then foam a little more when opened, which is why the crown cap should be removed carefully. Although the perlage in the glass is not as fine as that of classic sparkling wines, PetNats impress in terms of flavour and aroma with their pronounced fruitiness.

Made from natural or organic wines

They are also somewhat lighter in alcohol because PetNats do not undergo a second fermentation like traditionally produced sparkling wines. For sparkling wine production, a clear wine always ferments a second time, which produces a good percentage of alcohol by volume more in addition to the sparkling CO2.

As a rule, PetNats are made from completely untreated natural or organic wines. Then they are literally a „naturally sparkling pleasure“.