When pét-nats emerged onto the Australian wine scene in the mid-2010s, they captivated the imagination of a generation of young wine drinkers – while also generating scorn from those wedded to the status quo. Although based on an ancient method of making sparkling wine, those wines felt very avant-garde: luridly coloured, and the cloudier the better, with charmingly irreverent labels. It was an archetype-smashing movement that reframed the possibilities for what wine could be – but many of those wines were also haphazard affairs, sometimes showing winemaking faults, and often volcanically eruptive. Fast-forward a decade, and the landscape is now completely different – the wines are no longer vinous hand-grenades, either literally or metaphorically. That change hasn’t come at the expense of diversity, though – there’s a pét-nat for every occasion, from park wine to fine dining. With a new generation of makers entering the pét-nat space – and former stalwarts of the style leaving it – we thought it was time to take another Deep Dive.
We gathered every example of Australian pét-nat – that is, sparkling wines whose fizz comes from primary fermentation in the bottle – that we could find, and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines. Below are the wines that made the panellists’ top-six selections from the tasting.
Our panel: Peta Baverstock, winemaker, Cuvée Co.; Tim Byrne, vigneron, Babche; Hayley Williamson, co-owner and wine buyer, Nina’s Bar & Restaurant; James Scarcebrook, winemaker, Vino Intrepido; Lisa Harris, sommelier, Cardwell Cellars; Soma Deák, wine retailer, Pour Diane; Blaire Gillespie, wine retailer, Natural Science Wine & Liquor.
From the Deep Dive
Discover more in The Outtakes below.
Discover more in The Outtakes below.
Discover more in The Outtakes below.
The Top Wines
2025 La Violetta ‘Patio Nat’ Muscat/Riesling Pét-Nat, Geographe $40 RRP
This wine appeared in the top six wines of the day for Scarcebrook, Baverstock, Gillespie, Byrne, and Williamson. Scarcebrook described “very fruity and sherbet-y – all saltwater taffy, Moroccan fairy floss, lychees and loquat. Brightly crunchy, fresh and fruity yet dry on the palate, both refreshing and moreish simultaneously. Super fun and eminently drinkable – yummy!” Baverstock noted “this one’s pretty in pink. Surprisingly the aroma initially reminded me of craft beer – a little edge of herbaceous hops, swamped with bursts of fresh strawberries and ripe raspberries. There’s a rosé spritzer vibe here – full of flavour, which makes it unfussy. The bright, tangy acidity is what really stands out and keeps me coming back – that acidity makes it simply delicious, and means it would be a winner matched with anything spicy.” Gillespie said, “if Vodka Cruisers decided to come out with a ‘nectarine’ or ‘white peach’ flavour, it’s going to taste like this. This would be a great wine to introduce to a friend who’s unsure of pét-nat’s mysterious nature, because it’s very clear this wine showed up here for a party.” Byrne described “beautifully aromatic and floral straight out of the glass, layered with sweet fresh strawberry. On the palate, things are a little more serious, with pleasant candied ginger characters appearing. It shows phenolic weight in the absence of bitterness.”
Harris, Deák, Baverstock, Scarcebrook, Williamson, and Byrne all selected this wine among their top six from the blind tasting. Harris described “light ruby in colour with a moderate, softly persistent mousse. Aromatically lifted, with pinot-like red cherry and cranberry fruit notes. Fine tea-like tannins frame the palate, giving gentle grip and structure without weight. Bright natural acidity keeps the wine energetic and precise, balancing the red fruit core and finishing dry, savoury and refreshingly moreish. A perfect match for prosciutto-covered pizza!” Deák noted “a vibrant pét-nat with the charm of a berry-kissed cider. Playful yet beautifully composed, it balances pretty, whimsical aromatics with surprising depth and texture – delicate natural bubbles lift notes of fresh cranberry, wild strawberries, and rose petals. An effortless pairing for all fish dishes – from delicate sashimi to boldly spiced seafood.” Baverstock found it “quite cheery aromatically, with notes of ripe strawberries reminiscent of a sparkling ripe pinot noir. The palate is creamy and structured, revealing layers of savoury toast and liquorice. It’s super approachable, bright as a daisy.” Williamson called it her “pick of the darker wines in the line-up – reminiscent of the Aussie sparkling Shiraz styles that I love. I’d pair this with a summer tomato salad on the porch on a balmy evening.”
This wine made the top six wines of the tasting for Deák, Williamson, and Byrne. Deák described “full-bodied and richly textured, this wine pours a deep honeyed gold in the glass. It delivers a creamy, grüner veltliner or marsanne-esque mouthfeel, layered with notes of wildflower honey, ripe stone fruit, and subtle hints of dried hay and meadow herbs. Generous yet balanced, it carries warmth and softness through the palate, finishing with gentle savoury tones that add complexity and intrigue. A beautiful match for aged soft cheeses.” Williamson noted “a very inviting aromatic profile of apples, pears, honeysuckle and oyster shell. The palate leans classic in style, with clear minerality on show alongside lemon curd, beach sand and jasmine florals. There’s a pleasing chewiness to the texture that gives the wine structure and presence. I’d pair this with smoky char kway teow.” Byrne found “this wine expresses flinty, kerosene-like characters on the nose – hinting that riesling might be putting its foot forward here. There’s a juicy freshness that could be described as lemon/lime sherbet. A forward richness on the palate, combined with a pleasant grapefruit pithiness, allows for texture.”
2025 Aristotelis ke Anthoula ‘Nanima Road’ Riesling Pét-Nat, Canberra District $45 RRP
Scarcebrook, Byrne, and Williamson included this wine in their top six selections from the tasting. Scarcebrook described “bright tight focused aromatics – slightly underripe yellow fruits of white peach and white fig, alongside hints of lemon sherbet. Very delicate bead in the glass and a very light spritz on the palate. Mouth-puckering sharpness, but not in a bad way – tight and focused. A little chewy and unctuous to promote appetite – serve it cold, with grilled scallops.” Byrne noted “reminiscent of northern Victorian summers – I was picturing fresh picked apricots and wattle blossom at first smell of this wine! On the palate, the initial upfront sweetness is balanced well with a clean lemon-rind acidity. Although sweeter in style than would normally be my preference, this is definitely a wine that would pass the ‘bottle test’ – eminent quaffable.” Williamson found “perhaps the quirkiest of my picks, but in a compelling way. Golden apple, honeysuckle and oyster shell lead on the nose. The palate has a viscous oily or waxy texture, with a gentle yoghurt character and a fresh basil herbaceousness – yet it retains an elegant, pretty quality.”
This wine appeared in the top six wines on the day for Baverstock, Deák, and Gillespie. Baverstock described “a turbid, cloudy number, immediately signalling an unfiltered style that is on-brief for pét-nat. A gorgeous vibrant spice profile emerges on the nose, complemented by the brightness of fresh red apple and a hint of candied ginger cubes. This wine has ‘fun’ written all over it – it conjures images of a sunny afternoon in the park or a mum’s group gathering, complete with cherry-cola vibes. This is a smashable style that is so easy to enjoy – its fruit-first focus makes it an easy style to appreciate.” Deák noted “bright and aromatic, this wine opens with crisp green apple and fresh orchard fruits, layered with subtle green pepper notes and a gentle touch of baking spice. Lively and well-balanced, it combines juicy fruit with savoury complexity and a refreshing, mouth-watering finish.” Gillespie found “a beautiful shade in the glass that draws people in and starts the conversation. This one jumps out of the glass with aromas of freeze-dried strawberries, a hint of rhubarb tartness and pink grapefruit acidity. The bubbles make it feel light and snackable.”
Williamson selected this wine among her top six picks, describing how “this strongly resembled a quality blanc de noirs – easily the most Champagne-like of the tasting. Clear in the glass with a pleasant, persistent fizz, the nose opens with brioche, fuji apple and a touch of toffee apple. On the palate there is a slight edge suggestive of gentle development – toffee and toast layered over red apple skin, nectarine and bright lemon juice acidity, with a dusting of nutmeg spice. A subtle saline note carries through to a long, satisfying finish. I’d pair this with a bowl of cheesy handmade pasta.”
2025 New Era ‘Art Series’ Dolcetto/Pinot Grigio Pét-Nat, Adelaide Hills $30 RRP
Gillespie chose this wine for their top six wines from the blind tasting, noting “a very pretty pink colour I would have died to paint my walls as a preteen. But, much like a teenage girl, under that pink veil she’s sharp, she’s salty, and she’s got a bit of attitude – think overripe, smushed strawberries forgotten in your lunchbox on a warm day. There’s also a grassy, vegetal edge – like tomato leaf and crushed herbs – wrapped up in lively persistent bubbles that makes this dangerously easy to drink. I’d like to taste this paired with a herbed goat’s cheese – specifically the Woodside ‘Saltbush Goat’ – to bring out its more herbaceous qualities, but to be honest it’s already perfect on its own.”
2022 Freeman Prosecco Pét-Nat, Hilltops $30 RRP
This wine made the top six selections for both Brasier and Wyse. Brasier described “a wine of subtlety and delicate intrigue. The aromatics are complex yet subdued – jasmine flowers and wild thyme with a salty edge reminiscent of a well-made Martini. This nuance continues on the palate with pithy lemon flesh and Thai lime zest notes leading to a finish that is bright and carrying – one that leaves you salivating and wanting another sip. A bottle of this, a nice sunny day, and some cold seafood are the stuff of instant memories.” Wyse noted “the nose is strikingly saline – a margarita comparison is difficult to avoid! The aromas are led by lime and agave, followed by powdered ginger, passionfruit, and orange blossom. There is some welcome ripeness on the palate, well balanced by fresh acidity. This combination of saltiness, richness, and aromatic lift makes this wine a natural partner for a rich korma, a yoghurt-laden fish dish, or chicken skewers marinated in chilli.”
2021 Freeman Rondinella Pét-Nat, Hilltops $30 RRP
Deák selected this wine among his top six wines from the tasting, noting “delicately funky and lightly textured, this gently off-dry pét-nat is bright, playful, and effortlessly drinkable. Pale blush in the glass, it opens with fresh raspberry and strawberry notes, layered with subtle florals – think jasmine – and a touch of savoury intrigue. Fresh, balanced, and quietly complex, it’s the kind of bottle that disappears quickly – perfect for sunny afternoons, shared plates, and easy conversation.”
2025 Yarran ‘A Few Words …’ Montepulciano Pétillant Naturel, Riverina $25 RRP
Byrne and Harris included this wine in their top six selections. Byrne described “prominent notes of vibrant strawberry and plum compote on the nose. This leads to a fun, juicy, sweet-fruited palate – strawberry tarts fill the mid-palate. Good density of flavour and clean, long finish. Gentle soft mousse – good balance.” Harris noted “on the nose, this pét-nat opens with a softly lactic, almost yoghurt-cream character, suggesting partial or complete malolactic fermentation. There’s a gentle roundness that gives the aromatics a pillowy texture. What keeps this from feeling overtly primary is a subtle phenolic grip reminiscent of apple skin, and the delicate presence of tea-like tannin.”
2023 Tim Ward Wines ‘I’ll Fly Away … With Mrs. Woo’ Chardonnay Pétillant Naturel, Hunter Valley $42 RRP
Gillespie selected this wine among their top six wines on the day, noting “the colour is a vibrant gold with a hint of green – surprisingly clear and polished for the style, where we’re used to seeing a lot of cloudy chunkiness. Beautiful, persistent bubbles with a soft, creamy mousse that just keeps going – it was still beading throughout the tasting when others had fallen flat. It delivers plenty of big, friendly funk on the nose, followed by gorgeous yeasty, bready richness on the palate. A lemon juice acid line cuts through the creaminess, giving the whole thing lift and momentum. This is absolutely begging for a washed-rind cheese and some stewed spiced pears on the side.”
2025 Wedded to the Weather ‘Cloud Project – Supercell’ Lagrein Pét-Nat, Riverland $27 RRP
Scarcebrook chose this wine for his top six picks from the tasting, describing “dark, bold and soft. Deep purple fruit aromatics on display here – blackcurrant and black cherry with a hint of dark chocolate, all Christmas cake and Cherry Ripe. Soft and mellow on the palate, showing cherry and blood plums, round but not overly heavy and tannic – not too deep or complex. This is exactly the type of sparkling red I’d like to see more of made in Australia – soft and fruity without the potentially complicating sweetness. You couldn’t find a wine better suited for a barbecue or Christmas lunch if you tried!”
Harris included this wine in her top six wines from the blind tasting, describing “a more oxidative expression with lifted, zippy mousse and a subtle touch of residual sugar. Aromas lean into wild fennel, rosemary, pine needle and dried meadow herbs with gently bruised orchard fruit – think baked apple and dried pear. The palate balances freshness with savoury depth, where a hint of sweetness rounds the acidity and amplifies the wine’s gastronomic appeal. Energetic yet textural, finishing dry-leaning with a lightly saline, herbaceous persistence. Pass me a zucchini and goat’s cheese salad!”
2025 Konpira Maru ‘Whitlands’ Field Blend Pétillant Naturel, King Valley $30 RRP
Baverstock selected this wine among her top six wines of the day, noting “notes of cherry blossom, marzipan and honey wax, with a firm texture and pleasing astringency. Its grip is complemented by an iodine-like savouriness that sets the structure up beautifully. The palate is refreshing – its cleansing power makes this a perfect lunchtime fizz. The aromas just keep delivering – potpourri, soap flakes, and fragrant rose are accompanied by crispy acidity, delivering a refined middle of the day drink, best enjoyed with a plate of tapas.”
2025 Wedded to the Weather ‘Cloud Project – Lightning Bolt’ Vermentino/Montepulciano Pét-Nat, Riverland $27RRP
Byrne chose this wine for his top six selections from the tasting, describing “the old adage that beauty is often found in simplicity applies to this wine. A nice savoury, toasty nose with generous elements of fresh clementine on the palate – a fresh and savoury dichotomy, like Vegemite and honey on toast. Very light phenolic input gives the wine some weight without detracting from the fresh clean acid-driven finish. A lovely crisp and bead persists through to the finish, where sweetness and acidity provide length and balance.”
Williamson selected this wine among her top six wines from the tasting, describing “pronounced jasmine florals on the nose, supported by apple, white peach and honeysuckle. The palate shows a saline, seashell character alongside honeydew melon, ripe golden apple, and a white-chocolate creaminess. The mousse is gentle and well-integrated, cleansing the palate instead of the wine’s moderate acidity. This wine shows just how much of a vibe pét-nat can bring to the party – fun, fizzy and easy to love. I’d pair it with an equally easygoing dish, like cheese on toast with HP Sauce.”
2021 Six Acres ‘Spectrum’ Chardonnay Pét-Nat, Yarra Valley $29 RRP
Gillespie chose this wine for their top six picks from the blind tasting, noting “there’s a proper blue cheese–like funk up front that definitely grabs your attention on the nose. Underneath that, it’s surprisingly elegant and very champagne-like, with notes of fresh bread dough, toasted brioche and a little lemon zest. The bubbles are fine and creamy, smoothing out the edges and pulling everything into balance, and a gentle, lemon yoghurt–like tang of acidity keeps everything feeling fresh. Weird in the best way – funky on the nose, classy and comforting once you start drinking it. When it comes to pairing, I would lean into the funk rather than away from it, and drink this while eating fried blue cheese–stuffed olives.
Harris included this wine in her top six wines of the day, describing “the wine pours a deeper golden hue, immediately giving a visual signal that more oxidative winemaking is taking place here. Aromatically, the first impression leans away from primary fruit and into the savoury side – there’s a distinct cereal and bakery note that evokes malted barley and crushed oats. On the palate, the mousse remains lively enough to keep the oxidative elements in check, while the acidity provides lift. The finish is long, savoury, and slightly saline – landing this somewhere between oxidative Champagne and the lightly sparkling wines of the Jura.”
Baverstock and Harris both selected this wine among their top six selections. Baverstock noted “this wine grabbed my attention with its toasty layers, nuanced grapefruit pith, and a subtle headiness that elevates its orange-pith character. Its austerity is super appealing, balanced by notable flavour weight and a suggestion of butterscotch richness. This medium-bodied wine has its own style and identity – it’s a bit wild, but completely engaging and compelling. Leaning into its almost vegetable stock–like savouriness overall, it would be ideally paired with protein-based dishes – think homemade chicken and leek pie with flaky puff pastry crust.” Harris described “a bright pale lemon pét-nat with a nose giving lifted and citrus-driven flavours of fresh lemon zest, finger lime and a distinct lemon-myrtle note. The mousse is finely textured and silky. The combination of moderate bubble pressure and that gentle malolactic influence keeps it approachable and easy-drinking.”
2023 Sven Joschke Wines Chardonnay Pét-Nat, Barossa Valley $26 RRP
Baverstock selected this wine among her top six wines from the blind tasting, describing how “the wine has loads of upfront yeast autolysis characters of baked biscuit, accompanied by rockmelon skin and fruit-salad aromas that suggest a promise of what’s to come. The palate plays between sweet and sour textures, followed by herbaceous and sherbet-like nuances, carrying savoury yeasty flavours with bready undertones – making an argument that this is a more serious wine than many other pét-nats. Any salty or oily snacks would match beautifully – fried whitebait or hot green olives come to mind.”
2024 The Lost Plot Mourvèdre Rosé Pét-Nat, Nagambie Lakes (Goulburn Valley) $30 RRP
Scarcebrook chose this wine for his top six wines of the day, noting “focused and pure but also a little wild – just a little bit of musky aromatics. Aromas moving more into stewed apple and baked rhubarb, but surprisingly fresh. Shows a very open and broad palate, but not in a heavy or cloying way – it still has good vibrant flavours and just enough acidity to keep things fresh. Considering that there’s a touch more savoury complexity to this wine, I’d definitely be looking at enjoying this with grilled fish or roast chicken – maybe even a green curry!”
Deák included this wine in his top six picks, describing “jalapeño! This wine leaps from the glass with vivid green pepper and fresh capsicum intensity. Bright, punchy, and full of personality, it delivers zesty freshness and mouth-watering lift with every sip. Boldly herbaceous and unapologetically green, it’s a thrilling, character-driven wine. Its jalapeño-dominant personality would make it perfect match for anything Mexican – from tacos and elote to spicy salsa and grilled corn.”
Gillespie selected this wine among their top six wines from the tasting, noting “this one comes in hot with big, aggressive fizz and a cloudy pour – but, my god, the nose is the most captivating in the room. Once you’re in, it’s all ripe nectarine, jasmine tea, and tangelo zest for the acidity. That wild energy settles into a really beautiful balance between sweetness and brightness, so it feels refreshing rather than heavy. I kept going back for the perfume! The obvious pairing would be a stone fruit dessert, but I can also see this working beautifully with a citrusy ceviche.”
Scarcebrook chose this wine for his top six selections from the blind tasting, describing “a complex interplay of aromas on the nose – green olives, grapefruit, and caperberries, alongside some salty biscuity notes, like a Graham cracker. Some nutty, smoky, and mineral notes – think briny oyster shell – coming from oxidative winemaking and potentially a flor component here too. Compelling and different. Complex, dry and slightly savoury on the palate, yet remains quite fresh and bright. Improves as it comes up in temperature in the glass – definitely more of a food wine, so serve it in a wine glass rather than a sparkling flute to allow the complex aromas to open up a bit more. Would be very interesting to pair with a vitello tonnato or a kingfish carpaccio!”
Deák included this wine in his top six wines of the day, noting “gentle nutty aromas of almond and buttery macadamia lead into soft biscotti-like notes on the palate. Light-hearted and easy-drinking, this is a joyful, unfussy sipper with a delicate blush-pink glow in the glass. Smooth, mellow and quietly charming, it offers comfort and character in equal measure. A natural match for roasted chicken and creamy pasta, it would also be perfect by itself on relaxed afternoons for effortless enjoyment.”
The backstory
When pét-nats emerged onto the Australian wine scene in the mid-2010s, they captivated the imagination of a generation of young wine drinkers – while also generating scorn from those wedded to the status quo. Although based on an ancient method of making sparkling wine, those wines felt very avant-garde: luridly coloured, and the cloudier the better, with charmingly irreverent labels. It was an archetype-smashing movement that reframed the possibilities for what wine could be – but many of those wines were also haphazard affairs, sometimes showing winemaking faults, and often volcanically eruptive. Fast-forward a decade, and the landscape is now completely different – the wines are no longer vinous hand-grenades, either literally or metaphorically. That change hasn’t come at the expense of diversity, though – there’s a pét-nat for every occasion, from park wine to fine dining.
The phrase ‘pét-nat’ is the casual, abbreviated form of the French pétillant naturel – literally, ‘naturally sparkling’. Pétillant naturel is, in turn, used interchangeably by French winemakers with the phrase méthode ancestrale – the original means of making wine fizzy. The méthode ancestrale is a practice that predates the much more technically challenging méthode traditionelle, or Champagne method, by roughly two centuries, with the first records of deliberately sparkling wines being credited to the monks of the Abbaye de Saint-Hilaire of Limoux in 1531. (The famous Champenoise monk Dom Pérignon, who many still mistakenly credit with inventing sparkling wine, became a cellarmaster in Hautvilliers around 160 years later – and his pursuit was to eliminate effervescence, not to create it.)
Caption: Vineyards in Limoux, France, where the monks of the Abbaye de Saint-Hilaire made the first known deliberately sparkling wine in 1531 – the predecessor of modern pét-nats. (Photo by jmt-29, CC BY 2.0.)
That ancient history might not seem to jibe with the contemporary image of pét-nats, which are seen by many wine consumers and professionals as fun and irreverent drinks – and often derided by more conservative palates as irredeemably faulty and funky. Indeed, makers of pét-nats and wine establishment figures alike have both sometimes viewed the very existence of pét-nats as a metaphorical middle finger to the establishment. But while the méthode ancestrale wines of France and the pét-nats of contemporary Australia are remarkably dissimilar in style and taste, they share the same fundamental method of becoming fizzy.
Toil and trouble
The bottles on the pét-nat shelf of your local trendy wine shop are, by definition, grouped together by a winemaking process – not by grape variety or region. Pét-nats therefore offer an incredible opportunity for winemakers to play. They can be made from any grape variety grown in any region, with almost any amount of skin contact – so they can run the full gamut of colour from ultra-pale yellow through to deep rich purple, with all of the shades of orange, pink and red in between. That obviously translates to a large diversity of flavour profiles, too, from light and bright to deep and brooding. They can be cloudier than the overhyped hazy IPA that your craft beer–drinking friend is currently crushing, or they can be so close to crystal-clear it’s hard to believe they’re not actually made in the Champagne method. And although the ‘nat’ is short for naturel, they’re not necessarily always ‘natural wines’ per se – the source grapes don’t have to be grown organically or biodynamically, and the winemaking can range from funkier than your gym socks to clean as a whistle. (It’s more accurate to think of pét-nats as ‘wines that are naturally sparkling’ rather than ‘sparkling natural wines’ – although more than a few producers have been more than happy to leave the line between those two concepts nice and blurry, for what should be pretty obvious reasons.)
Above: A line-up photo from our first Deep Dive into pét-nat shows the wide spectrum of colours that can be found in modern Australian pét-nat.
A little detour into winemaking science is required to understand how pét-nats become carbonated. The alcohol content in all wines is created by primary fermentation, where yeasts convert the sugars present in grape juice into ethanol. But ethanol is not the only major byproduct of this process – it also generates carbon dioxide. Under normal circumstances – such as when a wine ferments in a tank or a barrel – that carbon dioxide will eventually remove itself from the wine and enter the atmosphere. But if you take a wine while it’s still fermenting and stick in a sealed vessel, such as a bottle with a crown cap, that carbon dioxide will have nowhere to go and will instead dissolve into the wine, making it fizzy. For this reason, the precise level of carbonation in a finished pét-nat will be determined by just how much grape sugar is left in the active ferment before it’s bottled. Bottle the ferment too soon and you’ll have the vinous equivalent of Bart Simpson’s prank Duff can – but bottle it too late and you’ll have a sad, flat pét-nat-like beverage that drinks like that half-finished bottle of lemonade you’ve got kicking around in your fridge.
Above: Electron micrograph photo of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast species predominantly responsible for turning grape sugars into alcohol – and carbon dioxide – in wine. (Photo by Mogana Das Murtey and Patchamuthu Ramasamy, CC BY 3.0.) Opposite: Crystals of fructose – one of the two main types of sugar present in wine grapes. (Photo by Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0.)
There’s something refreshingly simple about the concept of the méthodeancestrale, but, as the above might indicate, the practice is anything but simple. Getting the timing right is obviously one of the hardest parts – which is a matter not just of knowing exactly when to bottle any given ferment, but also of having your logistical ducks in a row to be able to bottle at a moment’s notice, even if that’s in the middle of the night. (The difference between a successful pét-nat and a weakly fizzy one can come down to a matter of mere hours.) That’s all the harder if you’re working in a busy winery at harvest time with other ferments to guide through to completion and tonnes of freshly-picked grapes arriving every day. It also means that it’s very hard to scale up production – the more fermenting juice there is to bottle, the longer the bottling will take, which can dramatically exacerbate the difference in carbonation between the first bottle that goes through the bottling line and the last one. (For this reason, we’re unlikely to see the really large players enter the pét-nat game any time soon, outside of small trial batches.) In addition, the yeast cells that are busy making the wine fizzy in the bottle don’t have anywhere to go once they’ve done their job – which raises the turbid and stormy question of sediment.
Head in the clouds
John Harris of Mitchell Harris Wines and Blue Pyrenees estate is a sparkling wine specialist, although in the traditional method (à la Champagne). He’s also a former wine bar owner. “Ten years ago, when we’d recently opened our bar, a feeling of dread would sweep through me when a winemaker would proudly announce they have a pét-nat,” he says. “It would often be followed by an awkward pause while they cautiously opened the bottle over the sink, and we watched as a quarter of the contents gushed over the next five minutes.” This gushing isn’t solely to do with too much pressure in the bottle – it’s also a consequence of the sediment left behind by dead yeast cells after they’ve done their job. Each little speck of dead yeast forms a nucleation site where bubbles can form, so if there’s too many of them in the bottle all of the dissolved carbon dioxide will form bubbles at once, and the wine will rapidly foam over.
“If the wine is made using the ancestral method, disgorgement is probably a good idea, as it is difficult to control the level of lees at bottling,” says Gilles Lapalus – the man who produced one of Australia’s very first examples of méthode ancestrale wines in 2011, while he was the winemaker at Bendigo region winery Sutton Grange. “Not disgorging or leaving too much sediment or tartrate crystals is the best way to end up with more gushing when opening the bottle.” Disgorging – the process of removing the sediment by collecting it in the neck of the bottle and expelling it before topping and resealing – is seen by some die-hards as a perversion of the spirit of pét-nats. But winemakers can choose how much sediment to keep in the process, so disgorged pét-nats can retain some cloudiness while ensuring stability.
“Some people seem to think disgorging compromises the ‘nattiness’ somehow. Personally, I think removing sediment is one of the most basic, ‘natural’ interventions you can make.”
“Some people seem to think this compromises the ‘nattiness’ somehow,” says Andrew Hoadley of La Violetta. “Personally, I think removing sediment through disgorging is one of the most basic, ‘natural’ interventions you can make.” When Hoadley made his first pét-nat for La Violetta, in 2014, intervention was necessary to ensure the product was fit for sale: “There were these great long tartrate shards, like tequila worms in every bottle!” he says. “They looked quite beautiful but not ideal for opening, so we had to disgorge … we work on what we can control: racking to reduce sediment and dissolved carbon dioxide, a long ferment in a cool cellar for some tartrates to drop out. We test a lot of bottles at ‘fridge-door temperature’ out on the patio. If anything is gushy, it will have to be disgorged.”
Fruit first
Hoadley makes a dizzying number of wines for a small producer, all carefully considered and both a product of a fertile imagination and a high level of classic technical skill. His pét-nat range alone now extends to about half a dozen bottlings, depending on vintage. “We have learned a lot over the past nearly ten years of making pét-nats, and certainly worked out some technical improvements,” he says – but notes that the principle applied to his still wines, that fruit quality is non-negotiable, applies equally to his pét-nats. “For example, the vineyard that goes into ‘Patio Nat’,” he says. “It’s moscato, yes, in a fresh, potentially frivolous drink-in-the-sunshine style, but the vineyard it comes from is a really special block in the hills near Gnomesville, in the Ferguson Valley. It’s nothing like other moscato in the region, in that the altitude gives us a great line of natural acidity and delicacy of aromatics that’s perfect for pét-nat. That wine could only come from that vineyard!”
Above: Andrew Hoadley in the Gnomesville vineyard that provides moscato fruit for his ‘Patio Nat’. (Photo by Francis Andrijich.)
John Harris goes a step further than Hoadley on the subject of fruit quality, arguing not just that good fruit naturally enhances pét-nats, but that the style puts fruit deficiencies under the microscope: “Wines made as an afterthought, often as a means to find a home for under-ripe or poor quality fruit, do not respond well to the pét-nat treatment,” he says. “Like in most sparkling wines, faults are usually amplified by the bubbles.” Lapalus also places a premium on fruit quality, but argues that, for pét-nats, quality isn’t necessarily corollated with grape variety: “As [with] all wines, the wine starts with the grapes,” he says. “You need good-quality fruit, but variety is not key. Even a low acid variety can work, as the carbon dioxide level in the wine can balance the lack of acid. An aromatic variety will have a strong influence on the final wine, but again could be balanced by time on lees or other winemaking techniques, like a more reductive approach.”
“You need good-quality fruit, but variety is not key. Even a low acid variety can work, as the carbon dioxide level in the wine can balance the lack of acid.”
Hoadley believes that the potential for advancements in the genre are many. “This is one thing I love about pét-nats: you can take them wherever you want to. Something we’re working towards now is more lees aging before release,” he says. Indeed, one of Hoadley’s pét-nats, a riesling from one of the oldest vineyards in Great Southern, has seen thirty-four months ageing on lees (thus far) – twenty-two months longer than the minimum for Champagne. “It was looking so delicious a few years ago, but we decided to sit on it for a while to see if we can’t make some fine-ass sekt,” he says. “Hopefully people are still drinking pét-nats now that it’s finally been released!”
Pét-nado
Hoadley’s comment about whether or not people are still drinking pét-nats speaks to an anxiety around the market for them that many winemakers share. “Pét-nats have been great for the Australian wine scene,” Hoadley says, “to help shake off some of the fusspot baggage of our inherited vino culture with the dominant squeaky clean paranoid winemaking paradigm … things seemed to go over the top, though, with a tidal wave of dilettantish, carelessly made, rando cash-in ‘shit-nats’ hitting the market and putting a lot of people off the entire genre.”
Above: Owen Latta of Eastern Peake and Latta Vino – a former maker of pét-nat who has (mostly) left the category. Opposite: Gilles Lapalus, the winemaker who made Australia’s first pét-nat, at our our previous Deep Dive panel tasting into pét-nat.
Owen Latta of Eastern Peake and Latta Vino – also winner of the 2025 Young Gun of Wine Award – likewise argues that the local market for pét-nats has been damaged by a tsunami of poor-quality offerings. “Unfortunately, a lot of people started making pét-nat – and making bad ones, with bottles exploding. It’s getting hard to explain that to the consumer,” Latta says. “We saw sales plummet, and our customers losing interest in that style of wine.” As such, he’s no longer actively making pét-nat for the Australian market – although he is still selling through the last of a late-disgorged 2021 vintage pét-nat called ‘Good Times’, available only in magnums. For him, making pét-nat was part of a process of discovering how to make sparkling wine in general: “If you look at the origins of pét-nat, it’s sort of the gateway to making traditional-method sparkling wine,” he says. “I’ve been making base wine for a sparkling project for Eastern Peake since 2011, so while that was maturing, around 2015, I thought I’d have a play around with something that was a little more ready to go, being inspired by my friend Gilles Lapalus, who put pét-nat on the map in Australia … so the pét–nat was this thing in-between that was fun.” He adds that his customers have moved on from the style, too: “People’s palates want more complexity – they want to graduate from primary school and go to high school and tertiary school in terms of their wine education. And pét-nat gets left behind.”
“You want to have a bit of fun and quirkiness in your pét-nat, because that’s what it is. If you’re gonna make a sparkling wine, pét-nat is the fun, kind of quirky way to do it.”
Like Hoadley, Latta stresses the significance of pét-nats in bringing a breath of fresh air to the Australian wine scene. “Gilles started doing it in 2011, but no-one was really following it until about 2013 or 2014 – and then the style just became exciting, and tied in with the natural wine movement at that time, which myself and a few of my colleagues were linked into,” he says. “It was like a good culture shock – because here’s something that the consumer who was younger, or was looking for a change, hadn’t experienced before. Pét-nat was one of those things that gave that little gateway to the world of wine in general, which is great.” As a maker, he feels that “You want to have a bit of fun and quirkiness in your pét-nat, because that’s what it is. Like, if you’re gonna make a sparkling wine – and this is just my personal way of looking at it – pét-nat is the fun, kind of quirky way to do it. As long as it’s clean and it doesn’t explode everywhere, it’s just a bit of something fun and sparkly before you get into a serious bottle to share with a friend or friends.”
Fizzy Futures
Despite their reputation for easygoing fun, Latta points out that pét-nats can actually be quite frustrating to make – even more so than the technically difficult traditional method of producing carbonation in wine. With the traditional method, he says, “You’ll get your culture going for your sparkling, and then you can choose when you want to disgorge it – it’s all relaxed.” By contrast, he argues that “Making pét-nat is the most stressful. It’s both the easiest and most stressful wine you can produce in a winery – you’re bottling fermenting juice during vintage, when you’ve got heaps of stuff going on. I reckon that’s also why so many producers have pulled the pin – it’s pretty hard unless you’ve got lots of people that can do it, or you’re really small and you’re well managed.” Somewhat ironically, Latta himself will be returning to pét-nat making this year – but only for export markets, which didn’t adopt pét-nats as early as Australia and haven’t yet seen a backlash against the style. “I’m not looking forward to it!” he says, laughing. “We’ve got a couple of export partners that really want the pét-nat back, so we’re just gonna make a small amount – but that’s not for the domestic market.”
“The pét-nat scene has matured. The best wines – made with purpose and attention to detail – are incredibly enjoyable and diverse in style.”
Paradoxically, the pét-nats being made in Australia now are a far cry from the tidal wave of ‘shit-nats’ that once threatened to subsume our inner-city natural wine bars at the dawn of the 2020s. Makers are generally more knowledgeable about when to bottle their wines, and when to release them to the general public, to ensure that you’re less likely to end up with half a bottle on the floor when you open one. The base wines themselves are cleaner and sounder, too – still an anarchic rabble when it comes to matters of grape variety or blend, regionality, and finished colour, but certainly less likely to taste of barnyard or apple cider vinegar. Surveying the development of the category since the mid–2010s – from the days of dreading their presence in winemaker visits – Harris argues that “The pét-nat scene has matured, and the the quality of the winemaking has increased exponentially. The best wines – made with purpose and attention to detail – are incredibly enjoyable and diverse in style. We’ve come a long way, baby!”
“It’s not necessarily the Champagne drinker you want to target here – It’s also the beer and the cider drinker. People, if they don’t want a beer, they have a pét-nat.”
For Lapalus, one of the virtues of the style is that it can speak to audiences who might not otherwise be interested in wine. “It’s not necessarily the Champagne drinker you want to target here – it’s also the beer and the cider drinker, because it’s in-between,” he says. “I sell a lot of wine to breweries. People, if they don’t want a beer, they have a pét-nat. And that’s where we are. Pét-nat is often between cider and beer – especially with all the craft beer now, it’s sometimes quite blurry as well.” For similar reasons, Latta is happy to hand the torch of pét-nat making over to a new cohort of winemakers interested in the style – regardless of the size of their operations – in the hope that their pét-nats can speak to a younger audience in the same way his helped bring the younger audience of the mid–2010s into the fold: “There’s definitely some bigger producers who have done all the trials,” he says. “And good on them, too, because then they get another wine style that’s come from really humble foundations. They might commercialise it a bit, but at least it would be getting into the hands of people who probably won’t drink or didn’t drink wine – and now they’ve got their eye on something different. The more people drinking wine who are the right age, the better.”
Above: Our Deep Dive panellists gathered at the Bleakhouse Hotel, Albert Park (Melbourne).
Outtakes from the tasting
We gathered every example of Australian pét-nat – that is, sparkling wines whose fizz comes from primary fermentation in the bottle – that we could find, and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most.
Our panel: Peta Baverstock, winemaker, Cuvée Co.; Tim Byrne, vigneron, Babche; Hayley Williamson, co-owner and wine buyer, Nina’s Bar & Restaurant; James Scarcebrook, winemaker, Vino Intrepido; Lisa Harris, sommelier, Cardwell Cellars; Soma Deák, wine retailer, Pour Diane; Blaire Gillespie, wine retailer, Natural Science Wine & Liquor.
The panel commenced with a discussion about the sales landscape and consumer demand for pét-nats – a topic that there was surprisingly little agreement about. “Remember those days when pét-nats would just sell out before summer?” Scarcebrook asked. “It’s our best-selling wine still, by the way” Deák responded. Harris agreed: “I’m at that point where I actually barely have any pét-nats in stock at the moment – I’m like, okay, what am I gonna buy? What’s actually available?” she said. “Because people are coming in and rinsing the shelves of it consistently.” Gillespie’s experience was quite different: “Where I am, a bit further out, pét-nat is one of our worst-selling categories. Which is a shame because we love talking about it, but I’m still trying to get people into it.”
Above: Lisa Harris. Opposite: Soma Deák.
This lead Gillespie to observe that they “saw a lot of great beginners’ pét-nats today”. They said, “These would be perfect to introduce pét-nats to someone who’s never seen them before – who is maybe a little bit scared of it because of the pét-nats that came before, when we were starting making them. Those could be quite acidic or very bitter – they were sometimes a bit cooked.” They added that there were “a lot of Champagne vibes in here as well – which I think could win a lot of people over from classic straight-and-narrow Champagne and into something that does a little bit outside of their normal drinking habits, and back into something Australian.”
“These would be perfect to introduce pét-nats to someone who’s never seen them before – who is maybe a little bit scared of it because of the pét-nats that came before, when we were starting making them. Those could be quite acidic or very bitter – they were sometimes a bit cooked.”
Baverstock concurred with Gillespie on approachability within the line-up: “I saw them as not necessarily entry-level, but really easy-drinking, fuss-free deliciousness.” This was something she chalked up to improved winemaking, saying “They seemed a little bit more technically better – sound and stable. When you came back to them for the second look, they hadn’t really fallen apart or changed too much.” She added that the particular production method of these wines gave them an aromatic edge over traditional-method sparkling wines and still wines: “The wines really came through today – and maybe that’s capturing those beautiful light volatile compounds that would normally be lost in a traditional ferment. Things that would normally go into the atmosphere are being captured into the wine.”
While Williamson agreed with the general consensus that the wines in the line-up were less faulty or flawed than the category’s reputation would suggest, she did see some common issues in weaker examples in the line-up: “There was a lot of reduction across the wines,” she said, “which is maybe to do with the lees content in the bottles. There was also a lot of what I might think was lightstrike” – a fault that can occur when bottles are exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun, and one that is more prevalent in wines such as pét-nat that are mostly bottled in clear glass – “a lot of cabbage-y notes in there.”
“Why did we stabilise it? It’s meant to be whimsical beach wine – not Champagne. Is it just because we’re trying to appeal to the market? Not everything’s for everyone, by the way – and pét-nat is definitely one of those things that is not for everyone.”
Deák was impressed by the way in which Australian pét-nat makers had tamed the sometimes-volatile nature of the bubbles produced by the méthode ancestrale: “Only a couple foamed out of the bottle when you opened it,” he said. “Back in the day – five years ago – that was just a pét-nat characteristic. I’d have to open it outside always, and leave it on the table for a second until it’s stopped doing that – and then half a glass is missing.” (At this point, Byrne wondered out loud if most of the wines had been at least partially disgorged.) For Deak, while this was a welcome development, it also showed that Australian pét-nats as a whole had lost some of the rustic edge that was part of the appeal of the style: “Why did we stabilise it? It’s meant to be whimsical beach wine – not Champagne. Is it just because we’re trying to appeal to the market? Not everything’s for everyone, by the way – and pét-nat is definitely one of those things that is not for everyone.”
Above: Tim Byrne. Opposite: Hayley Williamson.
Harris saw the development of the category as something of a double-edged sword. “There’s a baseline that’s being established, and it’s across multiple styles of pét-nat,” she said. “But then you’re losing that stylistic choice – so what does this wine actually represent? Are you always just trying to achieve Champagne on a budget?” She added: “I think some of that volatility is fun. Yeah, it sucks when you lose wine – but if you want stability, spend the money on Champagne.”
“For consumers, the category of pét-nat is what the finished product is – it’s a stylistic thing. It’s fizzy, often unfiltered, often with some colour – maybe it’s orange, maybe it’s red. They possibly don’t know what actual pétillant naturel ancestral wine is.”
The fact that pét-nat as a category is now somewhat cleaner than it used to be raised the thorny issue of whether or not everyone who enters the market with a ‘pét-nat’ is actually making wine in the proper méthode ancestrale. “I feel like there’s been more experience and people have kind of adjusted the way they approach it,” Scarcebrook said. “Maybe it’s a case of cleaning things up a little bit before bottling it. Or maybe it’s a case – and I’m unfortunately aware of examples of this – where they’ve gone, ‘You know what? It’s a bit too risky doing this proper pétillant naturel, ancestral style – we’re better off finishing off a base wine because we can get it more stable, we can rack it, we can cold stabilise it, and then bottle it with sugar and yeast for a secondary fermentation. Then we can just release it unfiltered, undisgorged, and call it a pét-nat. So if we’re talking about the true ancestral pétillant naturel, those wines wouldn’t necessarily fall into that category.” (Scarcebrook observed here that ‘pét-nat’ is not a defined or regulated labelling term within Australia’s truth in labelling laws, so consumer protection within the category is less robust.) He added that, on the other hand, “For consumers, the category of pét-nat is what the finished product is – it’s a stylistic thing. It’s fizzy, often unfiltered, often with some colour – maybe it’s orange, maybe it’s red. They possibly don’t know what actual pétillant naturel ancestral wine is. So, we have to decide – what pathway are we gonna go down? Are we thinking about what it’s been, and what now, generally, the consumer thinks it’s about – are we trying to make that kind of wine better? Or are we trying to be true to the method itself?”
Above: James Scarcebrook. Opposite: The panel in action at the Bleakhouse Hotel, Albert Park (Melbourne) All wines tasted ‘blind’.
The idea that not everybody who makes a ‘pét-nat’ may be following the winemaking rules implicit in the name stirred a strong response from Byrne. “It’s quite emotive to me to hear that discussion about people who might not be making it in its purest form, as a person who does,” he said. “I mean, each to their own – we are lucky in Australia, because you can label it as you want. But at Babche we avoid the use of the term pét-nat for that exact reason. I wish I could use the term pét-nat and feel like I was representing what I was trying to put in the bottle.” He added, “It’s actually a question of the integrity of his producer. You’ve got to trust that the winemaker is telling the truth.”
Above and opposite: The panel in action at the Bleakhouse Hotel, Albert Park (Melbourne). All wines tasted ‘blind’.
The Panel
Since 2000, Peta Baverstock has spent over two decades focusing on the appreciation, making and branding of sparkling wine, inspired by many generous people and great wines along the way to follow her passion and to pursue creating great Australian sparkling wines. She launched her own wine label, Cuvée Co., in November 2018, and in 2024 opened a wine retail outlet, POPO, in Penola on South Australia’s Limestone Coast.
Tim Byrne made his first solo vintage on his family’s one-acre shiraz vineyard in 2005, when his parents travelled overseas and encouraged him to gather some friends, pick the fruit, and give it a go. He began his career in wine at Ozpak in 2009 as a lab technician, conducting analyses for wine bottling, before enrolling in a wine science degree at Charles Sturt University, which he completed in 2015. That same year, he was promoted to chief winemaker at the Bellarine Peninsula’s Terindah Estate. In 2019, Tim and Niki Nikolovski co-founded Babche Wines, united by a shared commitment to organic farming and crafting wines that reflect the low-tech traditions of past generations. Their approach centres on hand-made methods – manual-cranked basket presses, gravity flow, no industrial equipment and zero additives. They are now establishing a densely planted estate vineyard in Timboon, west of Geelong, which is becoming the new home of Babche.
Hayley Williamson is the co-owner of and wine buyer for Nina’s Bar & Restaurant, Brunswick. She has been in the hospitality industry for over two decades, starting as a bartender and then – after tasting a Remi Jobard Meursault in 2015 that opened her eyes to the world of fine wine – working her way up to becoming a sommelier at some of Sydney and Melbourne’s best restaurants, including Cirrus Dining in Sydney and Bar Romanée and Nomad in Melbourne. In 2023 she decided to take the leap away from working for someone else and now co-owns Nina’s Bar & Dining in Brunswick. In just under two years, it has become a thriving part of the local community – celebrated for its welcoming atmosphere, thoughtful food and wine, and genuine hospitality. Here she runs everything front of house – including curating all the beverages!
James Scarcebrookgraduated from The University of Adelaide with a Masters in Wine Business before a sixteen-month global wine adventure saw him visit ten wine-producing countries, including working two vintages in Germany. Since then, he has worked in fine-wine retail, as a representative for two leading importers, (both with a focus on Italian wines), and now makes wine full-time under his Vino Intrepido label. That label is centred on Italian varieties and a quest for finding Victorian sites where they excel, teased out in a way that reflects Italian tradition as seen through a new lens.
Lisa Harris currently works as a sommelier and wine merchant at Cardwell Cellars in Abbotsford, Melbourne.
Soma (pronounced ‘Shoma’) Deák is originally Hungarian and has been lucky enough to have lived in a few places he now can call home: fourteen years in Hungary, five in England, and here in Australia since he was nineteen. He’s obsessed with food and drinks – he started cooking at fourteen, and can’t stop learning about it. Wine came along soon after – he’s worked everywhere from silver service and fine dining to cafés, bars, breweries, and wine bars, and wine always grabbed him the most. He’s yet to do any education with the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET), but he reckons he could pass the Level 1 Award if he really tried. He is soon going to open a venue of his own in Yarraville as the next step into the industry – another move to keep leaning and expanding his knowledge of everything tasty.
Blaire Gillespie is a Queensland hospitality veteran of seventeen years, wearing many hats including venue management, off- and on-premise wine retail, chef, and owner/operator of a small suburban bistro. After closing their venue during covid, they went to private contract cheffing, winding up in regional Queensland wineries and becoming curious about wine production. They went on to attend Charles Sturt University, enrolling in a Bachelor of Wine Business and getting their Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 Award in Wines (with distinction) and a forklift licence before moving to Melbourne, open for whatever the next chapter in the wine industry might be. They currently work as the manager at Natural Science Wine & Liquor in Blackburn, and spend most of their shifts converting pinot gris drinkers to grüner while waxing lyrical about the importance of supporting Australian wine.
GET FIRST ACCESS TO THE NEXT WINE ICONS – DELIVERED
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