Special thanks to Wine Enthusiast and Sevenfifty for highlighting our latest efforts with piquette! Few people know of piquette, and if that’s you, the recent Sevenfifty article offers a quick descriptio
Derived from the French word for “prick” or “prickle,” which describes the drink’s slight fizz, piquette dates to ancient Greek and Roman times, when it was known as lora… In France, piquette is said to have been the preferred drink of vineyard workers at the lunch table, as its low alcohol encouraged post-lunch productivity rather than an alcohol-fueled stupor… nearly all European winemaking countries have their own version of piquette, usually made and consumed by field workers and their families.
So yes, piquette is not designed to replace that special bottle of wine for big occasions. It's meant to delight you, quench your thirst, and keep you moving!
Piquette is produced by hydrating pressed grapes for a second fermentation. Because freshly pressed grapes are plump with sugar and yeast, a second spontaneous fermentation takes off when water is added. This yields a refreshing wine-like beverage with a lower alcohol percentage than traditional wine.
We go into more detail about our foray into piquette, here. But the big a-ha moment came for us as we looked to history -- and friends -- for inspiration. Why not revive piquette and reimagine the modern wine spritzer? So we did. Not only through the Old Westminster Pet Nat piquette but also with our recent Better Wine Co releases.
Our thinking was, rather than adding sugar and adjuncts to already bad wine like most wine spritzers, why not change the standard by reviving the ancient approach? So we did. And as a bonus, because it’s so beautifully resourceful, the piquette method helped us bolster production considerably in an otherwise challenging year.
Piquette aligns beautifully with our approach to sustainable farming. I mean think about it. During harvest, we have literal tons of grape pomace with little purpose but to be composted. Is this not a shame? So in a spirit of adventure and creativity, we’re repurposing resources to make the perfect beverage for an active lifestyle: delicious piquette!
Piquette is not only delicious and thirst-quenching, it's also a natural byproduct of sustainable winemaking that has a taste, story, and experience all of its own.
So yes, we’re on a mission to reimagine the wine spritzer -- sessionable wine spritzers (6% abv) that... taste better, are better for you, and are better for the environment!