Producer >
Tim Wildman MW is a pét-nat obsessive, and has dedicated the last 10 years of his life to this sparkling wine style. He crafts the immensely popular Piggy Pop and Astro Bunny bottles, from Italian grapes in South Australia.
Having lost a bet in 2013 Tim picked a tonne of grapes and made his first pét-nat, an obscure choice in those days prior to the mainstream awareness of natural wine. In the words of Tim as a Master of Wine with no winemaking experience, "It was the perfect choice for an unskilled chancer, there was no defined style, and I had a bit more knowledge than anyone else. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man makes pét-nat."
Viticulture >
First planted in 1996 the Walnut Block vineyards lie in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough. The soils are made up of alluvial deposits, from an ancient river bed that flowed between the mountainous borders of the valley, over a free-draining, stony subsoil. The region benefits from high sunshine hours and a temperate climate. The vines are densely planted and are trained on trellises. The farming is organic.
Winemaking >
Grape growing and wine making
The 2022 vintage in South Australia was superb, with growing conditions close to the near perfect vintage of 2021 that preceded it.
As is often the case in very good vintages, high quality came with equally good yields as the vines were happy and healthy.
The Nero d’Avola and Mataro were hand harvested on 12h March, the Arneis on March 15th, the Zibibbo on March 11th and finally the Lagrein on April 1st.
The Nero d’Avola and Mataro were fermented with around 50% whole bunch for twenty four hours before being pressed off skins to achieve a hazy, rose petal colour.
The whites were partially fermented separately before being blended into the reds before bottling, not only does this add extra acidity and freshness but it also washes out some tannin without reducing the intense fruit flavours.
By making the Piggy as a rosé blend of white grapes and red grapes we think we’ve given it even greater drinkability and a mouthwatering freshness.
The wine is bottled at around 12 g/L residual sugar and completes its fermentation in the bottle resulting in a final pressure of around 3 bar, producing a gentle, frothy foam rather than an aggressive fizz.
Wild yeast, no adds, no filtration, no fining, zero sulphur = 100% natural goodness.
Zibbido, Nero d`Avola
13
AUSTRALIA
6
Not Set
Wildman Wine
Natural
Vegan
Vegetarian 
Fact Sheet
