Heinrich ‘Kind of Blue’ Pét-Nat 2022

The other day we wondered: is pét-nat demodé? Out of fashion? Where did pét-nat go?

For sure it had a moment, a couple of years ago. A little fun and funky, but also a little too sharp. We thought we were done with it, that we only wanted disgorged stuff, the sparkling that behaves itself. But waitttt because a shipment from Heinrich's Kind of Blue Pét-Nat landed in Ontario and we just had to order it. So easy to change our minds when delicious wine is on the horizon.

What a romantic name, isn't it? Kind of Blue because it's made with Blaufränkisch, and it's kind of blau, but also kind of Saint Laurent, also kind of Zweigelt-ish. The vines are farmed on calcareous and sedimentary soils, handpicked at the end of August when the grapes have reached that perfect point between ripe and fresh, then whole bunch pressed directly into tank with no sulfur and left to ferment on its own. The second fermentation happens in the bottle, and there's no disgorgement, hence the pétillant naturel.

Kind of Blue is kind of pale pink, almost the colour of the sky right before the sun dips below the horizon. It's a little wild, a little unpredictable, a little hazy.  It smells like raspberries and wild strawberries and something floral you can't quite name, but that feels like those weeks between lilac season and peony season, when you can feel that something sweet is in Toronto's air. On the palate it's dry and salty and has this tiny little prickle that dances on your tongue.

The first time I had this wine I was sitting on a friend's porch in early November, fall creeping in. We had a bag of potato chips and some questionable olives. It was perfect. And isn't that the whole point of wine? Those silly evenings.

Don't wait until fall to drink it. Summer is right here. It will be cold and ready to go in our fridge for when you are.