2022 Wildman Wines 'Astro Bunny' Pet Nat Brut South Australia

Winemaker Notes:  A pale hazy carrot juice orange color with explosive aromas of spice, white pepper and cut lime. The bubbles are soft, frothy and foamy with the classic Astro Bunny flavors of peach and nectarine with a smashable watermelon wetness providing great gluggability. She’s fun! Chill down, shake well before opening, serving suggestion: beach or bus, two people, ten minutes. 

Astro Bunny is the flagship wine from Wildman Wines. Tim decided to spice up the Bunny this year with the addition of some peppery Grüner and tangy Verdejo; it’s the same Astro Bunny you know and love, but with an added aromatic twist. The grapes come from all over South Australia: the Vermentino is from the Armadio Vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, the Zibibbo is from the Gums & Roses Vineyard in Riverland, the Grüner Veltliner & Verdejo are from the Bassham Organic Vineyard also in the Riverland, and the Nero d’Avola comes from Sue Trott’s Wilpena Vineyard in McLaren Vale. 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.

Tim Wildman is a British Master-of-Wine-(MW)-turned-winemaker. He became an MW in 2008 with a dissertation on Australian wine, which is now his professional specialty. He was awarded the Robert Mondavi Memorial prize for the highest score in Theory and his dissertation achieved the highest pass mark in his year. During a trip down under with his James Busby Travel Company (a wine education/travel company for industry folk), Tim got the crazy idea of making wine. More specifically, he wanted to make pét-nat, because this would allow him to pick the grapes, make and bottle the wine, all while on a month long trip. Pét-nat was also an apt choice because Tim was wary of stepping on the toes of growers/producers with 100+ year business plans. By sticking to the "less serious" pét-nats, he could avoid competition with those he holds in high regard. The lineup includes one white and one rosé pét-nat. Both zero-zero wines are made with a particular focus on climate appropriate varieties. Thoughtful wine in fun packaging is the vibe.