Dreamed up by winemakers, made by brewers.
During the 2022 vintage, Cornella Brewery collaborated with its sister business, winery Shiraz Republic with the aim to put Pet Nat wine into a can - combining the skills and equipment of both producers. Pet Nats are a natural sparkling wine, using the residual sugar from the fermentation to carbonate the wine, with no additives used throughout the process (yep, no added sulphites).
The Pet Nats start their life in the winery with the processing of grapes from local vineyards. The fermentation is spontaneous, kicking off with wild yeast on the skins and in the air without being directly inoculated in the winery. Towards the end of the fermentation, the wines are racked into the brewery unitanks where the ferment to dry under pressure. This allows the wine to carbonate with its natural sugars using a pressure relief valve to allow any excess carbon dioxide to escape. Once the fermentation is finished, the wines are then chilled to stabilise and clarify the wine before going into cans, removing the sediment associated with the majority of Pet Nats. The result is a pair of delicious pet nats, funky, yet stable, evenly carbonated and packaged in cans for the ultimate convenience. Perfect to bounce around the esky on a camping trip, beach holiday, picnic or music festival.
Cornella Brewery made two different Pet Nats in 2022. The first is a Skin Contact White. Yellow muscat, fermented on skins for 5 days, then fermented to dry. Tart, with notes of pineapple and lemon myrtle. The second, a Grenache Rosé, pressed directly off the skins and fermented at a controlled temperature until racking into tank for carbonation. Notes of peach & strawberry with a slight funkiness.
Both are sold in 330 mL cans, either in packs of 4 or 16. Available online from the Shiraz Republic website, at their cellar door and at select stockists.
