Curse you, Riunite! The the late 1970s and early 1980s, Riunite, which is a large consortium of wine co-ops, deluged the U.S. market with 2+ million cases of wine per year and a barrage of television commercials that featured a gut-wrenchingly nauseating jingle. Ugh, it's in my head right now. Make it stop! I was only in elementary school when the domestic Riunite television advertising blitz was in full swing and I still vividly remember those TV spots.
Among Riunite's lineup of wines is a Lambrusco which, to be frank, I find pretty disgusting. It's primary flavors remind me greatly of these revolting fluffy light orange-colored candies the name of which I cannot recall but the flavor of which scarred my palate as a child. Even if you love Riunite Lambrusco, you should still agree with me when I say that it is unfortunate that, in the minds of many, the word “Lambrusco” has become synonymous with Riunite Lambrusco. In addition to the fact that most Lambrusco wines bear only a sketchy resemblance to Ruinite, this association in the minds of many wine buyers keeps them from exploring a group of Italian wines which actually offer a substantial amount of diversity.
Lambruscos, considered frizzante (slightly sparkling) wines, are often, but not always, bottled with a a traditional sparkling wine cork and are almost always made with the Charmat (tank fermentation in a pressurized tank) method rather than the Champagne method. What many fail to realize is that there is not one Lambrusco, but five Lambrusco DOCs in Italy and that there are actually more than 60 clones of the Lambrusco grape with several of these commonly used in the production of the various “Lambruscos” available on the world market today.
The center of Lambrusco production is the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, specifically the western Emilia part of the region, around the city of Modena. Four Lambrusco DOC areas cluster around the city in a contiginous block.
The largest of these DOCs and the one responsible for the majority of Lambrusco DOC wine imported to the United States is Lambrusco Reggiano. Much of the wine produced here is of the sweeter style that many Americans are used to and this is also the home to the consortium that produces “Ruinite” wines as well. For an indication of sweetness levels, look for the words “amabile” (slightly sweet) or “dolce” (sweet) on the label. As the various Lambrusco clones used to make these wines are not naturally very sweet, the sweetness in these wines often comes from the additional of up to 15% of partially-fermented juice from the much sweeter Ancellotta grape.
The remaining three Lambrusco DOCs in Emilia are Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, and Lambrusco di Sorbara, which all tend to be dry and acidic and, on occasion, fairly tannic. Dry Lambrusco wines usually come in between 10-12% ABV while the sweeter versions will tend to be substantially lower.
There is a fifth Lambrusco DOC, Lambrusco Mantovano, which lies just to the north of the others, across the Lombardy border and it also produces predominantly dry Lambrusco wines. One fairly common brand of Mantovano Lambrusco available in my neck of the woods is “Gelsomina” from Vinicola Negri. They are vintage labeled and have proven to be quite good in both recent vintages of I have tried.
If you have never had a traditional dry Lambrusco, you owe it to yourself to try one.
Among Riunite's lineup of wines is a Lambrusco which, to be frank, I find pretty disgusting. It's primary flavors remind me greatly of these revolting fluffy light orange-colored candies the name of which I cannot recall but the flavor of which scarred my palate as a child. Even if you love Riunite Lambrusco, you should still agree with me when I say that it is unfortunate that, in the minds of many, the word “Lambrusco” has become synonymous with Riunite Lambrusco. In addition to the fact that most Lambrusco wines bear only a sketchy resemblance to Ruinite, this association in the minds of many wine buyers keeps them from exploring a group of Italian wines which actually offer a substantial amount of diversity.
Lambruscos, considered frizzante (slightly sparkling) wines, are often, but not always, bottled with a a traditional sparkling wine cork and are almost always made with the Charmat (tank fermentation in a pressurized tank) method rather than the Champagne method. What many fail to realize is that there is not one Lambrusco, but five Lambrusco DOCs in Italy and that there are actually more than 60 clones of the Lambrusco grape with several of these commonly used in the production of the various “Lambruscos” available on the world market today.
The center of Lambrusco production is the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, specifically the western Emilia part of the region, around the city of Modena. Four Lambrusco DOC areas cluster around the city in a contiginous block.
The largest of these DOCs and the one responsible for the majority of Lambrusco DOC wine imported to the United States is Lambrusco Reggiano. Much of the wine produced here is of the sweeter style that many Americans are used to and this is also the home to the consortium that produces “Ruinite” wines as well. For an indication of sweetness levels, look for the words “amabile” (slightly sweet) or “dolce” (sweet) on the label. As the various Lambrusco clones used to make these wines are not naturally very sweet, the sweetness in these wines often comes from the additional of up to 15% of partially-fermented juice from the much sweeter Ancellotta grape.
The remaining three Lambrusco DOCs in Emilia are Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, and Lambrusco di Sorbara, which all tend to be dry and acidic and, on occasion, fairly tannic. Dry Lambrusco wines usually come in between 10-12% ABV while the sweeter versions will tend to be substantially lower.
There is a fifth Lambrusco DOC, Lambrusco Mantovano, which lies just to the north of the others, across the Lombardy border and it also produces predominantly dry Lambrusco wines. One fairly common brand of Mantovano Lambrusco available in my neck of the woods is “Gelsomina” from Vinicola Negri. They are vintage labeled and have proven to be quite good in both recent vintages of I have tried.
If you have never had a traditional dry Lambrusco, you owe it to yourself to try one.
For this article, I decided to try and find a more interesting example of the more ubiquitous Reggiano wines, picking up a Ca' De' Medici Lambrusco “Cubista”, which is a dolce wine that comes in at only 7.5% ABV. While seeking glassware for this wine, one of my Riedels committed suicide by falling from the rack onto our ceramic tile floor. I hoped it wasn't a bad omen for the wine and, fortunately, it proved not to be.
Dark purple with moderate froth, the very expressive nose is of crushed blackberries and chocolate, almost cocoa, and a distinctive and rich smoky undercurrent. This is low-alcohol and sweet without being in the least bit syrupy with moderate acidity. The finish is more dry than the pronounced sweetness on the front palate would lead one to expect. The finish is medium-long and very pleasant. Drinking this wine is like eating a delicious blackberry chocolate tart a few feet from a guy smoking a big Cuban cigar. Ringing up at $12-$13 a bottle, it offers solid QPR as an after-dinner wine or as a pairing for hearty Italian pasta dishes like Lasagna Bolognese.
Dark purple with moderate froth, the very expressive nose is of crushed blackberries and chocolate, almost cocoa, and a distinctive and rich smoky undercurrent. This is low-alcohol and sweet without being in the least bit syrupy with moderate acidity. The finish is more dry than the pronounced sweetness on the front palate would lead one to expect. The finish is medium-long and very pleasant. Drinking this wine is like eating a delicious blackberry chocolate tart a few feet from a guy smoking a big Cuban cigar. Ringing up at $12-$13 a bottle, it offers solid QPR as an after-dinner wine or as a pairing for hearty Italian pasta dishes like Lasagna Bolognese.
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