Pét-Nat in Stockport
Pét-nat, short for pétillant naturel, is the oldest way of getting bubbles into a bottle: the wine finishes its first fermentation under a crown cap, trapping its own fizz, with nothing added. The results are alive, often cloudy, occasionally unpredictable, always fun. Allocations are tiny, which makes this the fastest-moving shelf at the stall. If something below takes your fancy, don't think about it too long.
Novi Izvor (Plovdiv), Bulgaria
■ Mavrud
Pale, cloudy pink with lively frothy bubbles; bright raspberry and strawberry fruit with fresh herbs and a hint of almond and citrus. Fresh, dry and gluggable — a fun, funky ancestral-method pét-nat. Natural, wild-yeast.
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
■ Pamid, Merlot
Bright, juicy red fruit with a herbaceous Balkan edge — a lighter, savoury red pét-nat leaning toward cool-climate Pinot in character. Easy-drinking, ancestral method, unfined and unfiltered. Tiny production.
Champcerie & Chinon, France
■ Apple, Cabernet Franc (co-ferment)
An experimental pét-nat co-ferment (75% apple, 25% Cabernet Franc) made with Chinon winemaker Boris Desbourdes. Crafted as a 'vin de soif' — lower-alcohol and easy-drinking; juicy, funky and fruit-forward. One for fans of funky pét-nats. Serve chilled, but not too chilled.
Aveiras de Cima, Portugal
■ Arinto, Fernão Pires, Olho de Lebre (white and red grapes together)
A pét-nat from João Pratas's smallholding at Aveiras de Cima, on the sandy soils of the Tejo — white and red grapes brought together and bottled with their own fermentation still running, never disgorged. Deep amber-orange in the glass and gently sparkling, with citrus and floral aromas over a bright, mineral palate. It may throw a deposit in time; that is meant to be there. Made naturally, with sulphur the only addition.
Cima Corgo, Alijó, Portugal
Field blend
Natural sparkling pét-nat made using the ancestral method from old-vine field blend. Wild strawberry, cherry, grapefruit, and a gentle fizz. Cloudy, unfiltered, undisgorged, no added sulphites. Fun, energetic, and refreshing.
Swartland, South Africa
■ Pinotage
Pale coppery-pink with a lively, frothy natural fizz; crunchy red apple, strawberry and cherry with a distinctive salty, savoury tang. Dry and gently textured: a fun, funky ancestral-method Pinotage pét-nat from the Swartland. Decanter scored the 2023 vintage 89 points.