Pet Nat or Pétillant Naturel is a soft effervescent, often cloudy style of wine that can be considered a beer alternative. The word Pétillant means sparkling, bubbly, or fizzy and while it seems like a new term, the process predates Champagne.

The difference is that Champagne gets it’s fizz from a second fermentation which is started in the bottle after stabilization/clarification of the wine. Pet Nat is pulled from the tank while it’s still fermenting and bottled (or kegged in my case) without stabilization (filtration, temperature stabilization, or fining) and prior to sulfite addition. The cloudiness is caused by live and dead yeast still floating in the wine. The live yeast is interestingly considered a probiotic.

Le Garage Pet Nat is made of South African Sémillon. This fizzy, cloudy wine has peach, pineapple, and citrus flavor characteristics along with a soft citrus nose and finish. It is light and refreshing and we will have it on tap until the 20 gallons are gone.

While we don’t make the fray of a natural wine, our wines are never filtered. The white wines are fined with bentonite clay and not egg white so they are considered vegan. Our red wines are neither filtered nor fined. Clarification is done by racking the wine off the lees, rinsing the barrels, and then pumping the wine back into the barrel. This is done a few times depending on how long the wines age.

Our Pet Nat is timed perfectly for hot summer days. Come out and give it a try at The Cheesiest Happy Hour today at Birchrun Hills Farm! With a little rearranging we also have our new white blend on tap.

Cheers!

Sharon