Wildman Wine, Piggy Pop Pét-Nat, South Australia, Australia, 2024

Producer Profile

Wildman Wine leads the charge of fun fresh and fault free Australian Pet-Nat, driven by the maverick spirit of founder and winemaker, Tim Wildman MW.

The production has evolved dramatically since the first vintage in 2014. Fruit, predominantly Nero d'Avola and Zibbibo, are now sourced from the top-quality regions of Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale thanks to a growing network of contacts, with guest appearances from other Italian varietals, Arneis and Fiano. The charmingly named Astro Bunny and Piggy Pop have won over drinkers and journalists across the globe with their vibrant, complex yet easy-going characters.

Viticulture

The fruit ripened slowly and achieved maximum flavour ripeness without losing freshness or acidity. The whites were picked early to retain acidity and obtain lower alcohol levels and the reds chosen carefully to provide additional spice and complexity.

Winemaking

Pressed off early to achieve the lighter colour and just the right amount of tannic grip to keep the wine fresh but not heavy. The wine was fermented using wild yeast with no winemaking additions or additives. The wine is bottled at approximately 12 g/l residual sugar and completes its fermentation in the bottle over the winter becoming fully dry and resulting in a final pressure of around 3 bar, producing a gentle foam not an aggressive fizz. Wild yeast, no adds, no filtration, no fining, zero sulphur.

Tasting Note

The colour is “liminal pink” - that shade that sits between dry rosé and chillable red. The aromas are a riot of cherries, red cherry, cherry pip, glacé cherry. The palate follows up with pomegranate, blood orange, spice and a savoury, amaro twist of raspberry salted liquorice. The bubble are soft and more foamy rather than aggressively fizzy, and there’s a mouth-watering freshness from the snappy Nero acidity, texture and tang from the Lagrein and Montepulciano and some spice from the exotic Prieto Picudo.

Food Matching

Serve cold, no need to shake before opening, pair with pals, pizza, parks and sunsets.