Alternabubbles for Everyone Haven't had a pét-nat yet? Now's the time.

Have pét-nats become... Normal? This is a question I have been pondering recently.

- By Ray Isle

Pétillant naturel wines (i.e., pét-nats) popped onto the wine scene a number of years ago and received-as with natural wine in general-far more press attention than actual purchases. But to some degree, they've now become a part of the everyday wine world; you can find a pét-nat at your local Total Wine just as easily as you can at a shop focusing solely on esoteric natural vintners.

Pét-nats are sparkling wines made in a manner that predates the so-called "traditional method" used in Champagne (and for most other sparkling wines). Rather than induce a second fermentation in the bottle to create the bubbles, as Champagne producers do, makers of pét-nat simply bottle the wine before the initial fermentation has ended. The result is softly fizzy, sometimes lightly sweet from residual grape sugars, usually hazy with unfiltered yeast particles, and typically sealed with a crown cap instead of a cork.

By nature, pét-nats are casual. They're easygoing. They didn't brush their hair when they got up, and they threw on yesterday's jeans because, really, who cares? Some pét-nats are downright funky. (On the other hand, some are as clean and precise as can be.)