Neon Eon Zweigelt Pet Nat 2020

Neon Eon's Zweigelt Pet Nat is a single-vineyard sparkling red wine sourced from Kaleden, BC, in the southern Okanagan Valley. The grapes are 100% Zweigelt, grown organically, and harvested on September 13, 2020. Soils at the site are clay, gravel, and loam, typical of this part of the valley floor and lower benches south of Penticton.

The winemaking follows méthode ancestrale: one-quarter of the grapes were crushed and destemmed, then poured over the remaining three-quarters as whole clusters. After a three-day partial ferment and soak, the wine was gently pressed and bottled while still fermenting, trapping CO2 in the bottle. It is undisgorged, with no added sulphur, no added yeasts, no enzymes or nutrients, and nothing removed — bottled unfined and unfiltered. Alcohol is 10.8%.

Zweigelt is a cross of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent, developed in Austria in 1922. It brings bright cherry aromas and lively acidity from St. Laurent, and a peppery, structured edge from Blaufränkisch. In this low-alcohol, undisgorged format, those qualities read as fresh red fruit, watermelon, and a sparkling crunch of acidity rather than weight or tannin.

Tyler Thrussell makes Neon Eon in Summerland, BC. His father Rick founded Sage Hills Vineyard in Summerland; Tyler began producing under the Neon Eon label in 2018 as a separate creative project with no additions and no removals across the entire range.