As Kermit said “It ain’t easy being green”.
We are delighted to announce that the 2024 Wildman Wine Astro Bunny and Piggy Pop pét-nats have been made with 100% certified organic and biodynamic grapes. I’m not going to lie, the admin almost killed us, but after a year long battle with spreadsheets, flow charts and something called google drive we received the official certificate from the ACO (Australian Certified Organic) on Christmas Eve 2024.
If it takes a village to raise a child it takes a small town to become organic! We’d like to thank those growers in McLaren Vale and the Riverland, South Australia who have done the hard yards over the last decade and grown beautiful organic and biodynamic grapes that they were kind enough to let us buy from them. Also thanks to the winery in The Adelaide Hills for making the huge effort to become organic certified, without which we could have organic grapes but not be allowed to call our wine organic. And last but by no means least to the warehouse in Adelaide who took the leap to become organic certified in 2024 for us and a neighbouring winery so we could export our wines with the organic logo. Phew!
Astro Bunny Pét-Nat 2024
Riverland, McLaren Vale – South Australia
Fiano 60%, Malvasia Bianca 14%, Pecorino 13%, Nero d’Avola 7%, Canada Muscat 6%
“A cult classic of the minimal intervention scene” – @LoveTillyDevine
“Utterly frivolous” – Jancis Robinson MW
“Australia’s favourite pét-nat” ™
The 2024 vintage marks 11 years of Wildman Wine pét-nats, and the next chapter in our journey is to move to using fully biodynamic and organic fruit, a goal we achieved for the first time in 2024, achieving certified organic status with the ACO (Australian Certified Organic), which can be used in some, but not all, of our export markets (see **list below). The aim when we started in 2014 remains the same to this day; to make wines that are fresh, fruity, foaming, fun and fault free using climate appropriate Mediterranean varieties.
HOW WE MADE IT
The 2024 vintage in South Australia was cooler than average, with no summer days over 40 degrees (104F) which allowed the fruit to ripen slowly and achieve maximum flavour ripeness without losing freshness or acidity. The whites were picked early to retain acidity and obtain lower alcohol levels, with the Fiano and Pecorino picked on February 2nd followed by the aromatic varieties and reds a few weeks later. The Muscat was given 24 hours pre-ferment skin contact to extract greater aromatics, the Nero was taken from the press after just a few hours to provide colour, then co-fermented with the Fiano and Pecorino. Interestingly the wine always goes into bottle a bright candy pink colour which transforms into the classic peachy orange over winter, a result of us not using any sulphur so the brighter red and pink colour compounds fall out of solution. The wine is bottled at approximately12 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 rather than an aggressive fizz. Wild yeast, no adds, no filtration, no fining, zero sulphur = 100% natural goodness
HOW IT TASTES
The blend is the classic Bunny trifecta of early picked Italian whites (Fiano and Pecorino), with Nero d’Avola for colour and Malvasia and Muscat for the distinctive aromatics. The colour is a peachy, hazy, lava lamp carrot colour, the aromas explosive with white peach, tangerine and cut lime. The bubbles are soft and more foamy not aggressively fizzy, with the classic Astro Bunny flavours of peach and nectarine with a smashable watermelon wetness providing great gluggability. She’s fun!
I was asked to describe our wines in three words recently and I said “Fun, fruity and fault-free” (well maybe that’s four). To that you could add foaming, frothy, fresh and fantastic. Chill down, shake well before opening, serving suggestion: beach or bus, two people, ten minutes.
The relatively low alcohol (11.5%) makes this pét-nat ideal as an aperitif at the start of a meal, or simply to drink on it’s own al fresco. The soft texture and peachy, citrus flavours make it a great pairing for seafood, shellfish, salads and even fresh fruit desserts.
11.5% ABV sugar 0.0 g/ L free S02 0.00 mg/l L. total SO2 4mg / L
pH 3.7 titratable acidity 4.6g/l L 13,622 bottles 180 magnums
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Piggy Pop Pét-Nat 2024
Riverland – South Australia
Nero d’Avola 71%, Lagrein 8%, Montepulciano 6%, Prieto Picudo 6%, Canada Muscat 6%, Aglianico 3%
“As bonkers as it is brilliant – liquid creativity!” – Olly Smith
“The aromatic white grapes are holding the juicy red grapes up to your face and urging you to take a refreshing mouthful” – Max Allen
“Australia’s favourite pét-nat” ™
The 2024 vintage marks 11 years of Wildman Wine pét-nats, and the next chapter in our journey is to move to using fully biodynamic and organic fruit, a goal we achieved for the first time in 2024, achieving certified organic status with the ACO (Australian Certified Organic), which can be used in some, but not all, of our export markets (see **list below). The aim when we started in 2014 remains the same to this day; to make wines that are fresh, fruity, foaming, fun and fault free using climate appropriate Mediterranean varieties.
HOW WE MADE IT
The 2024 vintage in South Australia was cooler than average, with no summer days over 40 degrees (104F) which allowed the fruit to ripen slowly and achieve maximum flavour ripeness without losing freshness or acidity. The Nero d’Avola was harvested in mid February with the addition of smaller amounts of Lagrein, Montepulciano, Prieto Picudo and Aglianico to provide additional spice and complexity. The reds were all fermented together, with a proportion of whole clusters. They were 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 = 100% natural goodness
HOW IT TASTES
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 cheery – all the cherries! 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 mouthwatering freshness from the snappy Nero acidity, texture and tang from the Lagrein and Montepulciano and some spice from the exotic Prieto Picudo.
I was asked to describe our wines in three words recently and I said “Fun, fruity and fault-free” (well maybe that’s four). To that you could add foaming, frothy, fresh and fantastic. Chill down, shake well before opening, serving suggestion: beach, park or back yard.
Serve cold, no need to shake before opening, pair with pals, pizza, parks and sunsets.
12.5% ABV sugar 3.5 g/ L free S02 0.00 mg/ L total SO2 3mg / L
pH 3.84 titratable acidity 4.1 g/ L 11,768 bottles 180 magnums
**We can use the ACO organic “green bud” logo in all markets except: USA, Canada, EU, China, South Korea, Japan