“It used to be that only a handful of wineries made sparkling wine in the U.S.—namely a handful in California owned by Champagne houses such as Chandon and Roederer. The traditional Champagne process takes a lot of time, equipment, and manpower, meaning the bar to entry was always high. But winemakers in the past few years have embraced a style of sparkling wine called pétillant naturel (pet-nat), in which wines finish in the bottle, without the usual addition of yeast and sugar for a second fermentation. A much quicker and cost-efficient process, it’s allowed smaller producers to gain a toehold in the sparkling wine market, too.”
Eight American Sparkling Wines for a Festive Fourth of July
