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Explore Pét-Nat and méthode ancestrale sparkling wines, made by completing fermentation in bottle for lively bubbles, fresh fruit and a distinctly less conventional expression of sparkling wine.
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Pét-Nat, short for Pétillant Naturel, is a style of sparkling wine generally made using the méthode ancestrale, or ancestral method.
Rather than completing fermentation before creating a second fermentation in bottle, as occurs with traditional-method sparkling wine, Pét-Nat is bottled while its initial fermentation is still underway. Carbon dioxide produced as fermentation continues becomes trapped in the bottle, creating the wine's natural effervescence.
The result can range from bright and precise to cloudy, textural and gently sparkling. Pét-Nat can be made from many grape varieties and in white, rosé and red styles, so the term describes the production method rather than a particular flavour profile.
Pét-Nat begins much like a still wine, with grape juice undergoing alcoholic fermentation.
The key difference comes before fermentation has finished. The partially fermented wine is bottled with remaining fermentable sugar, allowing fermentation to continue inside the sealed bottle. The carbon dioxide created during this process remains trapped in the wine and forms the bubbles.
Unlike the traditional method used for Champagne and many premium sparkling wines, Pét-Nat generally does not undergo a separate second fermentation specifically to create its effervescence.
The technique sounds simple, but timing is important. The winemaker needs to judge when to bottle the fermenting wine so that sufficient pressure develops without leaving excessive residual sugar or creating too much pressure.
Many Pét-Nats retain some of the yeast sediment, or lees, created as fermentation finishes in bottle.
When those deposits remain, the wine may appear hazy or cloudy. Other producers choose to disgorge their Pét-Nat and remove some or all of the sediment, resulting in a clearer wine.
Cloudiness is therefore common but not a requirement of Pét-Nat, nor is it in itself an indication of quality.
Sediment can contribute additional texture and savoury character, while clearer examples may present with a cleaner, more precise profile.
There is no single Pét-Nat flavour profile because the style can be made from many grape varieties and regions.
Fresh citrus, apple, pear, stone fruit, berries, florals and herbs can all appear depending on the grapes used. Wines bottled with their lees may also show bread, yeast or savoury characters.
Effervescence can range from gently pétillant to more pronounced sparkling pressure, and styles can finish dry or retain a small amount of sweetness depending on how fermentation progresses.
Australia's Pét-Nat producers have embraced the ancestral method across a wide range of climates, grape varieties and winemaking styles.
The current collection includes Ghost Rock Supernatural Pét Nat 2025, part of Ghost Rock's Supernatural range from Tasmania, alongside Caledonia Australis Umbra Méthode Ancestrale 2015.
Other recent releases have included Lark Hill Dark Horse Vineyard Roxanne Pétillant Naturel, Marion's Vineyard Pét Nat Müt and Unico Zelo Sea Foam Pét Nat, depending on availability.
This diversity illustrates one of the central characteristics of Pét-Nat: it is a method rather than a tightly prescribed wine style.
The fundamental difference lies in fermentation.
With the traditional method, the base wine first completes alcoholic fermentation. A measured addition of yeast and sugar then initiates a second fermentation inside the bottle, producing the bubbles. The wine may subsequently spend an extended period ageing on its lees before disgorgement.
With Pét-Nat, the original fermentation is still underway when the wine enters the bottle. The bubbles are created as that same fermentation reaches completion.
Traditional-method wines therefore tend to offer more controlled effervescence and can develop pronounced lees-aged complexity, while Pét-Nat is often valued for freshness, immediacy and a less manipulated expression of fruit and fermentation.
Pét-Nat is frequently associated with the natural and minimal-intervention wine movement, but the terms are not interchangeable.
Pét-Nat describes how a sparkling wine is made. Natural or minimal intervention refers more broadly to viticultural and winemaking philosophies and practices.
A Pét-Nat may be produced using organic fruit, indigenous yeast, minimal filtration and low sulphur additions, but none of those practices is inherent in the definition of Pétillant Naturel itself.
Similarly, a natural wine does not need to be sparkling.
For drinkers coming from conventional sparkling wine, a clearer and drier Pét-Nat can provide an accessible introduction to the style.
Cloudier, leesier examples tend to offer more texture and fermentation-derived character, while grape variety remains one of the best guides to the fruit profile of the wine.
Pét-Nat should generally be served well chilled. Because sediment and bottle pressure can vary, keeping the wine cold and opening it carefully is advisable.
Explore Pét-Nat and méthode ancestrale sparkling wines from Australia, including releases from Ghost Rock and other independent producers.
Delivery is available Australia-wide, with same-day delivery also available across eligible Sydney metropolitan areas.
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