Nowadays, the world is awash with brilliant fizz, and it seems on the rise as an increasing number of growers begin to experiment with natural sparkling wines. There are lots of ways of putting bubbles in a bottle, including modern techniques such as the “Bicycle Pump Method” (in which carbon dioxide is injected into a still wine in order to carbonate it) or the “Charmat Method” (where the sparkling is produced in large tanks, rather than bottles)—a method that is widely used today, for example, in the production of prosecco. However, all the wines included here are bottle-fermented, using traditional or ancestral methods.
THE TRADITIONAL METHOD
This is, perhaps, the most well-known way of creating fizz—it is used for Champagne, for instance—and is sometimes hailed as producing sparkling wines of the highest quality, which is nonsense since great bubbly can be made using a variety of practices. Champagne is Champagne, for example, primarily because it has been marketed better than other sparkling wines.
“Traditional Method” sparklings start out as still wines (called the base wine in the trade), which are then bottled, together with yeast and sugar—or, in the case of natural, traditional-method wines, grape juice complete with its native yeasts and natural sugars—to cause a secondary fermentation in the bottle (so creating carbon dioxide). By law, sparklings made using this method then have to be disgorged, i.e. the dead yeast cells (known as lees) are expelled.
Although they are the most famous of all the traditional-method sparklings, there are no Champagnes included in my list for the simple reason that making truly natural Champagne is currently illegal. It is a legal requirement to add yeast to start off the second fermentation in the bottle. As absurd as this may sound, a grower cannot, for example, use fresh must (even if it is from the same year, vineyard, or even grapes) for the process. “This practice is legally forbidden in Champagne, despite being legally authorized by the European texts. In Champagne, the ‘liqueur de tirage’ [i.e. the sugars added to feed the packeted yeasts for the second fermentation] can include saccharose or concentrated, rectified grape must. Not must, per se,” the Champagne Bureau in London told me in the fall (autumn) of 2013. So, since the selection focuses on wines that are made without the addition of yeast and sugar, Champagnes are not included. There are, however, producers such as Anselme Selosse who experiment with must, and there are some terrific growers, including Frank Pascal, David Léclapart, and Cédric Bouchard, who work very naturally and whose wines are absolutely worth tracking down.
Also known as the “Rural Method,” the “Ancestral Method” is thought to be the oldest recipe for producing bubbles. Fermenting grape juice is bottled straight up so that the carbon dioxide, which is given off as the yeasts convert the sugars into alcohol, is trapped in the bottle. Although beautifully simple, it is, in fact, extremely tricky to get right—bottle late and your sparkling will be flat; bottle too soon and you risk the whole thing exploding. It’s a precise art. Growers bottle the juice at a specific density to achieve the right pressure, alcohol, and sweetness. There will probably be slight variations between bottles, and, depending on the stage of their development, some may contain residual sugar. Part of the joy, though, is the wine’s evolution in the bottle.
Many of the bottles will have sediments, some more than others, as growers differ in their approaches. Most lightly filter the juice either at bottling or disgorge prior to release.
Eminently quaffable, pet nats—or pétillants naturels as they are properly known (be they French, Italian, or otherwise)—are one of the most exciting things to have come out of the natural wine world. They offer extraordinary value in terms of quality, price, and pleasure. Many growers make a pétillant of some description, often in small quantities of around 3,000 to 4000 bottles. They are available in all the different colors—white, pink, orange, and red—and versions of each are included in the selection.
Costadilà’s col fondo sparkling wines in the Veneto, Italy, are part of a new wave of producers creating proper bottle-fermented, prosecco-style wines.
Pétillants naturels (or pet nats)—natural sparklings—seem to have exploded over recent years, and with good reason: they are some of the most exciting, easy-drinking wines around.
Quarticello, Despina Malvasia
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Malvasia (White)
Honeysuckle | Lychee | Conference pear
Like Cinque Campi described on page 142, Roberto Maestri, who owns Quarticello, is part of a proper lambrusco renaissance sweeping the Emilia Romagna region at the moment. Lightly fizzy, floral, and with hints of apricot, it shows great intensity of crystalline aromas. Extremely precise and linear.
*Low levels of sulfites added
La Garagista, Ci Confonde
Vermont, USA
Brianna (White)
Pollen | Fresh date | Peach
Husband-and-wife team—Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber—began life as dancers, and are today biodynamic farmers-cum-restaurateurs-author-baker-winemakers! Their work turns conventional wine “wisdom” on its head, as they work primarily with hybrid varieties: la crescent, marquette, frontenac gris, frontenac blanc, frontenac, brianna, and St. Croix, which are basically crosses between various grape species, including vinifera (traditional European wine grape varieties) and some hardier wild, native American species (such as riparia and lambrusca). Originally bred to suit the climate, hybrid varieties have fallen so far out of conventional wine favor that most wine professionals have never even tasted them. Hybrids have very unusual flavors and textures, and tasting through Deirdre and Caleb’s range will certainly take you out of your comfort zone because they are so unusual, so wonderfully refreshing, and so darn good.
*No added sulfites
La Grange Tiphaine, Nouveau Nez
Montlouis, Loire, France
Chenin blanc (White)
Quince | Water apple | Mirabelle
This 25-acre (10-hectare) estate, created by Alfonse Delecheneau at the end of the 1800s, is today in the hands of his great grandson, Damien, and his wife, Coralie. They craft a great range of wines using sauvignon blanc, cabernet franc, and, of course, chenin blanc, the star grape of the Montlouis region. One of my favorites is their dangerously drinkable pétillant naturel. Precise and understated, it is full of pleasure—an elegant wine.
*Low levels of sulfites added
MEDIUM-BODIED BUBBLES
Costadilà, 280 slm
Veneto, Italy
Glera, verdiso, bianchetta trevigiana (Orange)
Crushed rice | Peach | Ginger
Orange and fizzy, this floral wine is creamy with tannins, as a result of the 20- to 25-day maceration on the skins, which takes place without any temperature control. Second fermentation is carried out in the bottle by adding fresh must (complete with its wild yeasts) from dried, pressed grapes of the same harvest. There are no additions whatsoever.
*No added sulfites
Domaine Breton, Vouvray Pétillant Naturel
Moustillant, Loire, France
Chenin blanc (White)
Propolis | Cinnamon | Baked apple
Catherine and Pierre Breton (creators of La Dive Bouteille) make a cracking range of fizzes (and stills). This is my favorite of their range, with its delicious baked apple and cinnamon edge, and super-creamy mousse.
*No added sulfites
Les Vignes de Babass, La Nuée Bulleuse
Loire, France
Chenin blanc (White)
Mimosa | Honey | Ripe Williams pear
Sébastien Dervieux (aka Babass) created his own domaine after working at Les Griottes with Pat Desplats. It is Sébastien who today cares for Joseph Hacquet’s old vineyard (see Who: The Origins of the Movement, page 116). A dark yellow, sparkling wine, with a dash of residual sugar, it has a honeyed nose and creamy texture. A few darker spices, too, as well as great concentration—a trait that many well-managed vineyards often have.
*No added sulfites
Gotsa, Pat’ Nat’
Georgia
Tavkveri (Rosé)
Wild strawberry | Rhubarb | Cacao bean
Former architect Beka Gotsadze is a larger-than-life character, with a warm, booming presence. After searching for years, he decided to plant vines in what used to be one of Georgia’s ancient wine-growing areas, off the Tbilisi-Armenia road, south of the capital. He’s the only grape grower for miles around, with locals having swapped vines for sheep when the Soviets took over. Beka chose eastern Georgia for grape-growing, as its fertile soils meant higher yields. Beka ferments and ages his wines in qvevri (or kvevri)—a wine “technology” included on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity—and uses gravity to move his wines around his hilltop cellar. A dash tannic, this vibrant, deep pink, flavorsome pet nat, made without skin contact (unusual for Georgia), is awesome—a huge achievement considering that this is Beka’s first go at making natural bubbles. It is a testament to how resourceful and exacting he is, given the uncompromising attention to detail needed to make a success of it. Well worth seeking out.
*No added sulfites
Vins d’Alsace Rietsch, Crémant Extra Brut
Alsace, France
Pinot auxerrois, pinot blanc, pinot gris, chardonnay (White)
Gingerbread | Ripe persimmon | Vanilla bean
Like many Alsatian producers, Jean Pierre Rietsch makes an extensive range of styles. A shy, playful man, his wines are delicious—some with a touch of sulfites, others without. I particularly love this Crémant d’Alsace (the term used to describe traditional-method sparklings from this region). Creamy and opulent, it was made without any dosage or sulfite additions, and the second fermentation in the bottle was started with must from his 2014 vintage. Another couple of must-tries are his oranges made from gewurztraminer and pinot gris—both are made with skin contact, which adds a savoriness and tightness to grape varieties that can sometimes be a little over-the-top.
*No added sulfites
FULL-BODIED BUBBLES
Casa Caterina, Cuvée 60, Brut Nature
Franciacorta, Italy
Chardonnay (White)
Golden Delicious (apple) | Brioche | Sesame seed
Owned by the Del Bono family, who have lived and farmed in this area of Italy since the 12th century, this 17-acre (7-hectare) estate grows dozens of different grape varieties and produces micro-cuvées, around 1,000 bottles each. Matured for almost five years (or rather 60 months—hence its name) on its lees, the Cuvée 60 has developed great complexity of autolytic bready notes, while retaining a beautiful, almost lemon-balmy, freshness. It has a great creamy texture. Ripe. Round and opulent, with a sensation of sweetness.
*No added sulfites
Les Vignes de l’Angevin, Fêtembulles
Loire, France
Chenin blanc (White)
Bready | Medlar | Greengage
Jean-Pierre Robinot, one of France’s earliest natural wine supporters, started off as a wine writer. After co-founding Le Rouge et Le Blanc, a wine magazine in France, he opened one of the first natural wine bars in Paris, in the 1980s, before going country and deciding to grow grapes himself. Deep, complex, and bone-dry with yeasty brioche notes and an almost metallic minerality. It is verbena-esque, although very dry.
*No added sulfites
Camillo Donati, Malvasia Secco
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Malvasia (Orange)
Damascus rose | Lychee | Marjoram
Camillo’s wines are bold and exciting, and this fizz is no exception. It is full-on. Forty-eight hours on the skins helps to give it a “bitey” texture and highlights the floral aromas of the malvasia. When I tasted it, it showed beautifully even two days after opening. I drank it with some super-simple spaghetti—olive oil, sage, and old, crunchy Parmesan cheese—and it was delicious.
*No added sulfites
Jolly Ferriol, Pet’Nat
Roussillon, France
Muscat à petit grain, alexandria (White)
Lilies | Orange blossom | Pithy
Grown on schisty marl in the south of France, this pet nat is part of a no-added-sulfite range of wines, produced by husband-and-wife team Isabelle Jolly and Jean-Luc Chossart, who took over one of the oldest viticultural properties in the Agly Valley. It is also worth looking out for their great, fortified, sweet wine, Vins Doux Naturels, which is typical of this region of France.
*No added sulfites
Capriades, Pepin La Bulle
Touraine, Loire, France
Chardonnay, chenin blanc, menu pineau, petit meslier (White)
Ripe melon | Brioche | Carambola
Pascal Potaire and Moses Gaddouche are, if you like, the “mac daddies” of the pet-nat method. The méthode ancestral is all they do—and they do it to perfection. Ask most French pet-nat growers who their heroes are and, more often than not, they’ll cite Pascal and Moses. This cuvée, released after three years of élevage, is one of the more serious of their range. Opulent and ripe, it has incredible weight and concentration. They also produce others, such as their Piège à Filles, which are much lighter in style and great apéritifs. Utterly delectable wines.
*No added sulfites
Cinque Campi, Rosso dell’Emilia IGP
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Lambrusco grasparossa, malbo gentile, marzemino (Red)
Cassis | Black olives | Violets
Although red sparkling wines are (unfortunately) pretty rare, this area of Italy has produced some gorgeous examples, including this one. Tannic and full-bodied, with a refreshing, crunchy acidity, it shows dark fruits typical of serious lambrusco. And it is so savory, it is almost meaty. Works with fatty foods really well. Only 3,000 bottles were produced. Cinque Campi’s entire range is sulfite-free.
*No added sulfites
During riddling, lees (dead yeast cells) collect in the necks of sparkling wine bottles, which means they can easily be disgorged.
LIGHT-BODIED 