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Off the Beaten Wine Trail: Bugey-Cerdon

Bugey is a wine I love to include in my in-person tasting events, as either a starter or a finisher. It fills both spots nicely – bubbles to celebrate the start of an event, or something semi-sweet to pair with dessert. There aren’t too many wines out there that can fill both positions with the prettiness and finesse of Bugey-Cerdon. It has been hailed as “the happiest wine on earth.”

Bugey is a tiny (1,000 acres of vineyards), little known Alpine hamlet in eastern France, halfway between Lyon and Geneva. It is located in the “middle of nowhere” foothills of the Jura Mountains, bordered by Beaujolais to the west, Savoie to the east, Jura and Burgundy to the north, and the Rhone to the south. The vineyards are not contiguous – they are scattered throughout this small region nestled in valleys between mountains and ridges.

Here you will find a cool, sub-Alpine climate of cold winters and mild summers where grapes can struggle to ripen. This is a climate well suited to sparkling wines, which only need “just ripe enough” grapes to get good flavor, but preserve that all-important acidity.

The Bugey region produces a number of different grape varieties, mostly white, aromatic, lower in alcohol, and higher in acidity. Chardonnay is it’s primary varietal, but they also grow Jacquère, Altesse and Aligoté for the whites, and Poulsard, Mondeuse, Pinot Noir and Gamay for the reds.

However, its most famous and distinctive wine is Bugey-Cerdon. Wine from Cerdon, one of Bugey’s three cru areas, is always sparkling, fetchingly pink, and a touch sweet with low alcohol (around 8% ABV). These incredibly easy drinking wines are made from a blend of Gamay and Poulsard grapes, and the flavors are reminiscent of wild berries, strawberries and cream.

According to French law, Bugey-Cerdon must be made by the méthode ancestrale (also known as pet-nat, petillent natural, ancestral method, or col fondo), an ancient process for producing bubbly wine that predates Champagne.

In méthode ancestrale, partially fermented wine is bottled with its remaining residual sugar and yeast. Fermentation then continues in the bottle and the byproduct of carbon dioxide becomes trapped, creating bubbles. This technique was likely discovered by accident. During the winter months, yeast becomes dormant when the wine is bottled, then the yeast awakens with warm spring temperatures and finishes fermenting. Many small producers use this process because it’s the most accessible way to make sparkling wine as it doesn’t require the expensive equipment needed to make Champagne method wines.

Bugey-Cerdon must be aged in the bottle on lees (dead yeast cells) for a minimum of 9 months, imparting a creamy texture. Many of these wines may be left unfined and unfiltered, so may include some leftover yeast cells, resulting in a slightly hazy appearance.

These wines have lower pressures, calmer foam and larger bubbles than Champagne-method wines. This means they are more aromatic and flavorful upon opening, but the bubbles will dissipate more quickly as the wine ages so they are meant to be drunk young and not cellared.

Recommendations:

  • Patrick Bottex Bugey Cerdon La Cueille ($20)
  • Daniel Boccard Cerdon Bugey Demi-Sec Rose ($23)

Pet Nat: The Next Big Bubbly

You might think that all bubbles are created equal, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are actually six different ways of producing sparkling wines that result in wines with different characters, textures, flavors and price ranges. However, have you ever thought about how sparkling wine first came to be?

You might be surprised to know that Champagne was not the world’s first sparkling wine. In fact, Champagne’s “Traditional Method” of making sparkling wine came along 200 years after sparkling wine was first developed. The very first manner of producing sparkling wine is called the “Ancestral Method” and the first recorded reference to it was in 1531 in Languedoc in southern France.

This ancient method of making sparkling wine is now experiencing a big resurgence in popularity, and these wines are definitely worth seeking out, so let’s delve a little deeper and learn more about wines made using the Ancestral Method.

Names on the label:

  • Pét-nat (Pétillant Naturel)
  • Col Fondo
  • Methode Ancestral
  • Bottle Fermented

How its made:

  • Not only is this the oldest way of making sparkling wine, it is also the simplest method – so simple, in fact, that it probably first happened by accident!
  • A still wine is bottled before alcoholic fermentation is completed, leaving some residual sugar and yeast left in the wine.
  • The fermentation continues in the bottle, with the yeast converting the remaining sugar into alcohol and releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) as a by-product of fermentation. The CO2 bubbles are absorbed into the wine, creating a sparkling wine.
  • Some Pét-nats are left unfined and unfiltered, meaning they can have a hazy or cloudy appearance due to yeast cells left in the wine.
  • These wines are often closed with a crown cap (beer-bottle cap) rather than a cork, reflecting the informal style of these wines.

What it tastes like:

  • The fun thing about Pét-nats is they can be made from any grape variety and are produced all over the world. The small producers who are making these wines today love to experiment with unusual, little known varietals. Because of this, there is no typical flavor profile for Pét-nats, but its a great way to explore grapes you have never heard of before!
  • Pét-nats displays calmer foam, typically with larger bubbles on the palate. The lower pressure of pét-nats allows for a more generous aroma upon opening the bottle.
  • A pét-nat’s bubbles often become softer and smaller as it ages so are meant to be drunk young and not cellared for a long period of time.
  • Those that are hazy and unfiltered can have a creamier texture, as well as biscuity, bready flavors imparted by the yeast cells remaining in the wine.
  • Most pét-nats tend to be fairly low in alcohol—often under 13% ABV— and so they’re usually refreshing and easy drinking.

Where to find them

  • Pét-nats tend to cost in the range of $18-$35.
  • They can be difficult to find in supermarkets and big chain wine stores. You will have better luck finding them in Natural Wine shops and boutique wine shops.
  • Many small, local wineries are now producing Pét-nats because they are easy and cost-effective to produce, so take a look at the wineries in your home state as they may be producing some excellent Pét-nats. In fact, the best one I’ve ever had was made in my home state of New Jersey with chenin blanc grapes. This is also a great way to support a local business!