Lambrusco

Lambrusco more than a single grape is a collective name used for a large group of red grape varieties, currently over 60, a red grape and the name of a wine made with said grape and originates from Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy.

As per the Lambrusco wine, it is a slightly sparking, “frizzante”, red wine from one of the eight Lambrusco denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regions: Colli di Parma Lambrusco, Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Reggiano Lambrusco, Colli di Scandiano e Canossa Lambrusco, Modena Lambrusco, and Lambrusco Mantovano (the only DOC outside Emilia Romagna).

Traditionally, Lambrusco wines were bottle fermented but nowadays, the majority of them, go through the second fermentation in large steel tanks. This is the Martinotti/Charmat/tank method – this method is also used for the production of Prosecco. Lambrusco wines were initially made to be drunk young, but in the recent years a new wave of winemakers has proved that a good Lambrusco can age well and some of them even started to make wines using the classic method (metodo classico) with, sometime, amazing results.

Lambrusco wines have different levels of dryness / sweetness , including “secco” (bone dry / dry), “amabile” (off-dry / sweet) and “dolce” (very sweet) but the best wines come in their “secco” version. Lambrusco tends to have a lively acidity and a berry nose and it matches perfectly charcuteries and cheeses.