🍷 Perlant
Also known as: perlant wine
A French word for wine with a barely noticeable sparkle.
Perlant is a French word for wine with barely noticeable bubbles. It is not sparkling and is even gentler than pétillant. There is very little gas: you feel a slight prickle on the tongue and see a few tiny beads on the glass.
The bubbles usually remain from fermentation. If the wine is bottled early and cold, some carbon dioxide stays in it. Sometimes this is done on purpose to make the wine taste fresher. An example is some Muscadet from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, aged on its lees and bottled straight from them.
The word is also used in Switzerland, where many white wines from Chasselas are slightly perlant. In everyday English terms it is “barely fizzy” rather than bubbly: perlant sits close to semi-sparkling wine (Italian frizzante, German Perlwein) but with even lower gas pressure. It is a description of style rather than an official category.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Perlant → → → 🍇 Melon de Bourgogne → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Semi-sparkling wine
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ French wine, 🗺️ Swiss wine
- Related to
- 🍇 Melon de Bourgogne
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Semi-sparkling wine, 🍷 Pétillant
Frequently asked questions
Is perlant the same as fizz or bubbly?
No. Perlant is not sparkling at all: only a slight prickle on the tongue and a few tiny beads on the glass.
Is it true that perlant is an official EU wine category?
No. It is a description of style, close to semi-sparkling wine but with even lower gas pressure.
Why do some Muscadet and Swiss Chasselas whites taste slightly perlant?
Bottled early and cold, straight from the lees, a wine keeps a little carbon dioxide from fermentation; this happens in some Muscadet and in many Swiss Chasselas whites.
What to read next
- 🗺️ French wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes and appellations.
- 🗺️ Swiss wine — The wine of Switzerland: 14,431 ha of vineyards (2025), 55% red grapes; the leaders are Pinot noir and Chasselas.
Similar
🍷 Pét-nat · 🍷 Pétillant · 🍷 Aerated semi-sparkling wine · 🍷 Agulha · 🍷 Perlwein · 🍷 Frizzante
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.