27-06-2025
Italy's Lambrusco Wines Deserve More Respect Than The Sweet Fizzy Stuff Of The Past
REGGIO EMILIA, ITALY - MARCH 24: Lambrusco, a dry red wine originating from the Italian province of ... More Emilia-Romagna, is served with Prosciutto di Parma, Culatello, salami and Parmesan cheese at Antica Salumeria Giorgio Pancaldi, a delicatessen which traces its history back to the 15th century, on March 24, 2017 in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The region, which encompasses the Po River valley, is considered the breadbasket of Italy. With its slightly effervescent full body and high acidity Lambrusco is well suited to balance the rich foods of the region. (Photo by)
If the name Lambrusco means anything to most Americans it is probably because at some point they tried and even enjoyed Riunite, a pink, fizzy, sweet alternative to Kool-Aid for adults with the tag line, 'Reunite on ice, that's nice!' (I'm surprised they didn't Italianize it with 'atsa nice!) A jug of it still sells for $14. Back in the 1970s it was a wine crafted to compete with other sweet wines like Portugal's Mateus and Spanish sangria, loved precisely because they were sweet and could be splashed over ice.
MASSA FINALESE, MODENA, ITALY - 2017/09/05: A volunteer harvests Lambrusco grapes. This year Italy's ... More annual wine harvest started earlier due to to record-hitting hot summer. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Unfortunately Riunite's popularity was so great that wine lovers assumed all Lambruscos were of the same kind. Yet in Emilia-Romagna, where Lambrusco is made, that is far from the truth. In fact, the authoritative Native Wine Grapes of Italy by Ian d'Agata devotes eight double-column pages to the wine, writing, 'The Lambrusco family of grapes and wines could do with better public relations, as their image is tarnished in most fine wine drinking circles; fairly enough too, as these varieties are behind a collection of not very distinguished wines.' He also quotes Italian chef Lidia Bastianich as saying, 'Lambruscos have been misrepresented by industrial versions that have the soda pop flavors they think Americans might want.'
Traditional Italian Dish - Bollito Misto is a mix of boiled meat consisting of variuos tougher cuts ... More of beef and veal, gently simmered for 3 hours in a vegetable broth. Very popular in Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, served with mostarda, garlic and parsil based salsa verde and local chutney. Horizontal Composition.
I myself felt that way, too, until I traveled through Emila-Romagna and ate at its fine restaurants in Bologna, Parma, Modena and others where I found splendid examples of dry Lambrusco––with a slight fizz––that went with rich dishes like lasagne verde, tagliatelle ala bolognese and bollito ROMAGNA REGION, ITALY-MAY 2008: Founded in 1900 The Caseificio Sociale Castellazzo ... More Co-Operative in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy specializes in making the world famous Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. 19 partner farmers supply milk from Fresian and Antica Razza Reggiano cows who are fed a strict diet to ensure a high quality yield. It requires 16 litres of milk to make 1kg of seasoned Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and milk supplied by the farmers allows the consortium cheese makers to produce 12,000 wheels of cheese each year. Picture shows master cheese maker, Cristian Pederzoli, in the temperature controlled warehouse of Caseificio Sociale Castellazzo Co-Operative, where 25,000 wheels of the cheese are stored. (Photo by)
There are at least eight varieties of Lambrusco grapes (not to be confused with Vitis labrusca of North America), of which the best known, oldest and most abundant is Lambrusco di Sorbara. Many of the best come from vineyards around Modena. The finer examples have a taste of strawberry and an aroma of violets. They tend to be fairly light wines and the acid cuts through the richness of foods. They are also very pleasant as an apéritif with Emilia-Romagna products like Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Vecchia Modena by Cleto Chiari
Most Lambruscos are still produced by communal farmers, but there are some well-established and young artisanal newcomers who have continually improved the wines. Among the finer producers are Cavicchioli, Paltrinieri, Venturini Baldini, Terrevive and, possibly the best known and exported to the U.S., Cleto Chiarli, which was founded only in 2003 (though the parent winery goes back to 1860) by fourth generation family scions Mauro and Anselmo Chiarli. Located on 300 acres in Grasparossa (whose name is also one of the Lambrusco varieties), they produce 90,000 bottles in different styles crafted by winemaker Filippo Mattioli, using the Charmat method to give the wine its frizzantebubbles and clarity. The wines are very refreshing. All have a DOC appellation.
Its best known Lambrusco is Vecchia Modena Premium Brut ($18) dates back to 1882 and its introduction in 1900 to the World Expo in Paris in 1900, re-introduced in 2002, made from 100% Lambrusco di Sorbara grown in alluvial loam soil. Aged for two months, it is a lovely rose color, with a light 11% alcohol, and ideal with roast veal, grilled chicken and cheeses.
Fondatore is meant to resemble a 19th century trattoria wine.
Lambrusco del Fondatore ($21) evokes the quaffable style poured at the family's 19th century trattoria, made in the ancestral method by which the wine is bottled half-fermented and allowed to finish fermentation in the bottle, which traps the carbon dioxide that creates the fizz. It is now made from 100% Lambrusco di Sorbara grapes and, interestingly, not disgorged or filtered, so that the natural sediment remains in the bottle. It spends two months on the lees under cold fermentation. The wine gives you a true sense of that ancient style and goes well with simple, hearty pastas and stews. Its alcohol is 11.5%.Centenario is an organic wine made in association with the Cantina Sociale di Settecani from the ... More Castelvetro area,
'Organic' Lambrusco di Modena ($16). As of 2016 , with other growing partners within the Cantina Sociale di Settecani from the Castelvetro area, Cleto Chiarli worked with Grasparossa grapes with integrated pest control systems from soils composed of loam, alluvial sediment and gravel and vines nine years old. The grapes were macerated for four to five days using the must from gravity pressing, then treated to cold clarification and stabilization, with no second fermentation, spending one month in bottle to emerge at 11% alcohol.'Centenario' Lambrusco di Modena Amabile ($15). The term 'amabile' means lovable in Italian, and refers to a wine slightly sweeter abbocato. It is made from the thick-skinned Lambrusco di Grasparossa, whose high acid keeps the wine balanced and avoids its being cloyingly sweet from its 48 grams/liter residual sugar. Aged only one to two weeks, it's a simple Lambrusco but a good example of what a semi-dry (or semi-sweet) style should be like. Terrific match with pizza.
