Méthode Rurale

Méthode rurale meaning in sparkling wine

Méthode rurale is used for an ancestral family of sparkling-wine processes in which the first alcoholic fermentation begins before bottling and finishes in the bottle, trapping carbon dioxide produced by fermentation. It differs from the traditional method, where a finished base wine receives a separately initiated second fermentation in the final sale bottle.

The exact process belongs to the governing regional rule or producer specification. INAO, for example, distinguishes Limoux méthode ancestrale, whose first fermentation finishes in bottle, from Blanquette de Limoux, whose bubbles come from a second fermentation in bottle. Wines in the broader ancestral family may be disgorged or may retain sediment where rules permit. They are not automatically cloudy, sweet, or low in alcohol.

Pét-nat is common contemporary market language, but it is not one worldwide legal protocol for farming, cellar additions, pressure, or finishing. See the sparkling wine methods guide for the complete comparison.