In keeping with my current obsession with sparkling wines from Ontario, today I’m also going on a “natural” kick, with Trail Estate‘s red and white pétillants naturels, aka pét-nats.
Pét-nats
We’ve touched on pét-nats before. But here’s a recap:
- Pét-nats are as old as the hills; the OG of sparkling wine, if you will. Their natural winemaking process, the méthode ancestrale, was developed by monks in Limoux, France in the 16th century, long before the first Champagne was made using the méthode champenoiseColes notes version: how Champagne is made! The first fermentation happens in vats, then the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. This process was originally developed by monks... More.
- Red and/or white grapes can be used.
- This is a low-intervention winemaking technique where the wine is bottled mid-fermentation, then continues to ferment in the bottle.
- At this point the final result is unpredictable. Not even the winemaker knows how the wine will turn out.
- Pét-nats are meant to be drunk young – there’s no need to resist them by hiding them in your cellar!
- These bottles are generally topped with a crown cap rather than a traditional cork and cage.
Pét-nat disclaimer
Always make sure that pét-nats are chilled and settled before you try to pop that crown cap. I opened mine the day it was delivered, and this happened:
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Not cold enough. Not settled enough. Woops! I clearly need to work on my patience.
Trail Estate White Pét-Nat 2020
Attention beer and cider lovers: this may be your gateway wine (i.e. the wine that gets you into wines).
The first time I tasted this wine, it was like “Whoa. What the funk is this?”
I loved it.
From the first pour, it was unlike any wine I’d ever seen/smelled/tasted. It’s the kind of wine that is so unique, complex and interesting that I couldn’t stop drinking *ahem* tasting it!
👁️ Cloudy medium yellow with slightly pinky orange hue
👃 Grapefruit, yeasty green apple, ginger, honey, peach, lavender, roses (right?? how crazy are those aromas??)
👅 Despite only being 9.5% ABV, this pét-nat has a solid presence on the palate. It is medium-bodied, but that weight is nicely counterbalanced by its subtle effervescence, which feels like racy pepper on the tongue. It’s got this honey mead/cider-y thing going on, with all the same flavours as the aromas.
🍇 Muscat ottonet, pinot gris, geisenheim, gewürztraminer and riesling
🍽️ I love this wine even more because it pairs with almost everything, from brunch to dinner and everything in between. It’s got so much flavour personality that it even stands up to dishes that I would generally pair with a red wine, like a roast.
Where to buy: You can get this wine directly from Trail Estate ($35). It’s the perfect gift for that person who loves beer or cider, but is still on the fence about wine.
Trail Estate Red Pét-Nat 2020
I was relieved that this bottle did not give me as much trouble as the white. That said, it had been sitting in my fridge for over a week post-delivery, so it was chilled and settled, just like the instructions on the bottle (should have read those for the first bottle).
👁️ Hazy pale ruby red, like watered down cranberry juice
👃 Wild strawberry, raspberry, watermelon, cherry
👅 Dangerous. This wine is like candy to me. It’s not sweet per se (I think the residual sugarThe total amount of sugar that remains in a wine once fermentation is complete (generally expressed as grams per litre). Often abbreviated as RS. More falls under the “dry” category), but it sure drinks like juice. It’s light-bodied, tart, juicy and delicious. Its light fizz reminds me of the sensation of sour patch kids, while the flavour falls somewhere along the wide spectrum of cherry/raspberry/red apple/strawberry, depending on where your palate is at and what you’re eating. It also has a subtle yeasty quality, which brings me back to my Euro-trip backpacking days of my early 20s, and my obsession with kriek (a Belgian cherry lambic beer) during my three-day stint in Belgium. My husband said it reminded him of kombucha. This wine will be something different to everyone who tries it.
N.B. This bottle of the 2020 vintage is still in the early stages of its evolution, and not quite through fermenting. So in time, the perceived sweetness should decrease, while effervescence will increase.
🍇 Riesling, baco noir, cabernet franc
🍽️ This went great with stir-fry! Try pairing with anything with a tangy sauce. This is also a great apéritif wine to serve with appetizers or a charcuterie board.
Where to buy: I receive this red pét-nat as part of a pre-release—it’s not actually for sale yet. If you want to get your hands on it, keep an eye on the Trail Estate Shop, or better yet, join their wine club to get new releases delivered regularly to your door.
N.B. Like many of Trail’s wines, both of these pét-nats are unfiltered, unfined (and therefore vegan, since finingFining is a stage of the winemaking process that clarifies the wine by removing suspended particles. Common fining agents include albumen (egg whites), isinglass (dried fish parts), casein (a milk... More usually uses egg whites), and have no added sulphites.
Trail Estate Winery
As the original “natural” wine, pét-nats are an obvious choice for Trail Estate, whose entire ethos is dedicated to sustainability. This means that winemaker Mackenzie Brisbois relies on wild yeasts and intervenes as little as possible throughout the winemaking process. As a result, Trail Estate wines faithfully reflect the terroirTerroir is essentially the geographical, environmental and climatic elements of grape-growing (that allow the same grape grown in two different places to make two completely distinct wines). Here is a non-exhaustive... More of Prince Edward County—naturally.
Pét-nat tips and tricks
- Make sure the bottle is COLD AF (see video above) and hasn’t been jostled or shaken for a while before opening to avoid gushing.
- Leave bottle standing for 24 hours before opening so that any sediment naturally falls to the bottom of the bottle.
- Do not pour the bottle’s last 1/2 cup of wine, as it will be full of bitter sediment.
- If you’re not finishing the bottle in one night, drink within 48 hours of opening.
Are you intrigued? Have these curious pét-nats made your list yet? Let me know in the Comments!
Happy wining!
*These wines were received as samples from the winery. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own (you can’t fake this kind of love!).
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