Freeman Pét Nat Rondinella NV

Freeman Vineyards is a boutique family-owned winery in the Hilltops region of New South Wales, renowned for its Italian-inspired wines and pioneering spirit. Founded in 1999 by Dr. Brian Freeman, a former head of wine science at Charles Sturt University. Brian transitioned from academia to winemaking, bringing deep viticultural expertise to the Hilltops region. Situated in Prunevale, Hilltops, at 560 metres above sea level, the vineyard benefits from cool nights and sunny days during ripening, deep granite soils mixed with red silt, sand from central Australia and well-drained terrain, ideal for growing high-quality grapes.

Freeman Vineyards is Australia’s only producer of the northern Italian grape varieties Rondinella and Corvina, used in their flagship Secco. Other Italian varietals include Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Aleatico, Prosecco, Fiano, Pinot Grigio, and an obscure varietal for Australia, Furmint. Their priority is well crafted wines with a focus on textural complexity, balance, and food-friendliness.

Pét Nat is a pink sparkling minimal intervention natural wine crafted from Rondinella grapes. It is Vegan friendly. The fully mature late-ripening Rondinella bunches selected for this inaugural frizzante-style wine were harvested from the original Altura Vineyard and transferred to the winery within minutes for gentle basket-pressing. The free-run juice was drained and fermented naturally in small stainless steel vats courtesy of a vigorous wild yeast. The unfiltered wine was bottled (under crown seal) before the completion of fermentation (méthode ancestrale), guaranteeing a sprightly light effervescence.