Now attracting the interest of sommeliers and foodies the world over, Lambrusco is a simple wine with surprising complexities.
Finally recovering from the “dash to quantity” in the 1980s that ruined the reputation of what has always been a wine appreciated for its approachability rather than its ageing ability, modern incarnations of Lambrusco are winning admirers all over the world, especially in the gastronomic sector. And the fact that Lambrusco can also be made, highly successfully it turns out, in the same bottle-fermented fashion as Champagne, has started to create a market position for different vinification methods of this same wine.
As Alberto Medici, one of the leading producers of modern Lambrusco, recalls: “The value of Lambrusco tended to be simplified too much in the past; it was too often seen as a banal, light wine, with low alcohol content, a bit sweet, and very cheap to buy.”
“What was not understood,” Medici continues, “is that when we talk about Lambrusco, we are talking about a whole world of grape varieties, complex and fascinating as it is.” In fact, there are no fewer than six DOP areas and 11 distinct grape varieties. Who would have thought it? And this is just for Lambrusco produced in the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in central Italy. Not including Lambrusco from Parma and Mantua, further north.
This story is from the May 2017 edition of Decanter.
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This story is from the May 2017 edition of Decanter.
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