The Wine Reference🍷 SupportHome › Grapes › Pét-Nat (Pétillant Naturel)
Pét-Nat (Pétillant Naturel)
Pét-Nat (Pétillant Naturel) is a sparkling wine style known for apple, citrus, yeast. Its best-known homes are Loire, worldwide.
Origin and history
Made by the méthode ancestrale, the oldest sparkling technique, linked to Limoux in the 16th century; the 'pét-nat' name was popularised by Loire natural winemakers in the 1990s.
Where it grows
The Loire (Montlouis, Vouvray, Anjou), Limoux, Gaillac, Bugey-Cerdon and Die in France, and now made worldwide, from Australia to California and England.
Structure
Light body, fresh acidity and softer, gentler bubbles than Champagne; usually dry or nearly so, sometimes cloudy, often crown-capped and undisgorged.
Aromas, young and aged
Young: apple, pear, citrus, red berries and a yeasty, cider-like or sourdough note. Not intended for ageing.
Ageing
Drink within 1–2 years.
Also known as
Méthode ancestrale, méthode rurale.
Good to know
The wine is bottled before its first fermentation has finished, so the remaining sugar ferments in the bottle and creates the bubbles; no dosage is added.
Similar styles
Explore all grapes in the interactive guide
The Wine Reference newsletter
New wines, stories and career guides, one email a week at most.
Over 18s only. Unsubscribe any time with one click. Your email is stored securely by Kit and never shared.
Support The Wine Reference
This guide is free, with no paywall. If it helped you choose a bottle, you can buy me a glass and keep it growing.
🍷 Buy me a glass