What exactly is Pet Nat?

Range Life Wine answers our most basic questions on the old winemaking technique that’s coming back

Pet Nat seems to be all the rage these days, so we reached out to Cam at Range Life Wine to help us better understand the wine. Range Life Wine pride themselves in making fun, great value & easy to drink wines (including Pet Nat) from premium Italian grape varieties grown all around Victoria. They’re a small team all about making delicious and uncomplicated wines, perfect for any occasion. So, we thought they were the perfect ones to answer our most basic questions about Pet Nat. Enjoy!

So, what exactly is Pet Nat?

Pet Nat is short for, Pétillant Naturel. It is an old school method of making sparkling wine. Even older than the traditional Champagne method! It only goes through one fermentation process, whereas traditional Champagne goes through two fermentations. For example, our Range Life Pet Nat Chardonnay juice goes through its ferment process (where grape juice starts to turn into alcohol) and when it is half way through fermentation we bottle it under crown seal and the wine finishes its ferment off in bottle, trapping the CO2 inside and forming bubbles.

Why are we seeing it make a resurgence lately?

Pet Nats seem to be very on trend at the moment as it can be made reasonably quick and easy. It's the simplest way to make sparkling wine and results in rustic yet fun, tasty bubbles. Pet Nats are often less alcoholic (under 13%) due to the grapes needing to be picked a little earlier for natural acidity therefore they have less sugar. Pet Nats are also often unfiltered resulting in cloudy wines which adds more texture and flavour to the wine.

Are there different types of Pet Nat?

There are lots of different types of Pet Nat. The main difference is the grape variety being used in making the wine. The method of making it however is pretty much the same which is just the one fermentation process. For example there is Pet Nat Chardonnay, Pet Nat Pinot Noir, or Pet Nat can be a blend of different grapes too.

Any other fun facts you’d like to share with Mat & Tablers?

Pétillant Naturel in French translates to "Naturally Sparkling". History shows this type of Sparkling method has been around since the 16th Century.

To learn more about Range Life Wine visit www.rangelifewine.com.au. We cannot wait to share their Range Life Pet Nat Chardonnay at Mat & Table ‘Escape to The Country’!