# Orange Pet Nat (2023)

- **Producer:** Whinyard Rocks
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** sparkling
- **Grapes:** Solaris, Ortega
- **Region:** Wales, United Kingdom
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.0%
- **Average price:** €30
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 8–10 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** peach, apricot, orange, elderflower, ginger, grapefruit, bread, brioche, biscuit, almond, honey

## About this wine

Whinyard Rocks is a low-intervention, family-run vineyard and winery situated in the picturesque hills of Radnorshire, Powys, Wales. Founded with a passion for sustainable viticulture and natural winemaking, the estate focuses on cool-climate varieties that thrive in Welsh soils. This orange pet-nat is a testament to their minimal-intervention philosophy, capturing the raw, vibrant energy of the estate's terroir and showcasing a modern, adventurous side of British sparkling wine.

## Interesting facts

- Whinyard Rocks is located in Powys, making it one of the very few commercial natural vineyards operating in Wales.
- This pet-nat gets its distinctive amber color and light tannic structure from extended skin contact with white grape skins.
- The wine is bottled completely unfiltered, leaving the natural yeast sediment in the bottle to enhance texture and flavor over time.

## Food pairing

The vibrant acidity and gentle skin-contact tannins of this orange pet-nat make it incredibly food-friendly. It cuts beautifully through rich, fatty dishes like pork belly or fried tofu, while its wild, aromatic profile harmonizes with spicy, herbaceous, and fermented flavors found in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines.

## Wine making process

This sparkling wine is crafted using the ancestral method (pétillant naturel). The Solaris and Ortega grapes undergo extended skin contact to extract the wine's signature orange hue, gentle phenolic grip, and complex aromatics. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with wild yeasts. The wine is bottled before fermentation is complete, trapping the natural carbon dioxide to create a soft, persistent sparkle. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with no added sulfur.