Is Lambrusco A Serious Wine?

 

Hi
Considering the Lambrusco is often made in a light and easy to drink off-dry
style, can it be looked upon as a serious wine?
Or it's a fun wine for beginners whose palate have not yet developed to
appreciate sophisticated wine?
Thanks

 

Raymond wrote:


Vilco should pick up this thread.


--
Mike Tommasi - Six Fours, France
email link http://www.tommasi.org/mymail

 


Raymond wrote:


I know what you mean by your description of Lambrusco. That is the sort
of industrial wine usually found in the US and likely in the Orient
also. Portugal also sells a lot of cheap, red slightly sparkling wine.
However there are much better grades of Lambrusco. First they can vary
in color from red through pink. Also some of them are much drier than
what you usually find at your corner liquor store. The better ones also
are more expensive than the industrial stuff. The best is likely to be
labeled secco, that has a second fermentation in the bottle and may
contain a bit of sediment. According to Hugh Johnson, some of the
better wines, that sometimes can be found at select stores outside of
Italy, include those from Bellei, Caprari, Casali, Cavicchioli,
Graziano, Lini Oreste, Medici Ermete(Concerto), Rinaldo Rinaldini,
Venturini Baldini. It might be worth buying single bottles of any of
these that you can locate in your area to see if you like any of them.
I hope you have better luck finding them than I do in the central US.
Of course some companirs produce both industrial and fine Lambrusco.

 

Mi e' parso che cwdjrxyz@yahoo.com abbia scritto:



Exactly. WHat the OP talks about, and you've perfectly described
here, is "plonk" lambrusco. Now, let's go on with the real thing
;)



Yes, Grasparossa being the most colored and potentially strong,
with lower yield, higher sugar contents and higher polyphenols in
the berries' skin (what's the right technical word for the
skin?).



That is the traditional style Lambrusco, made in this
almost-champenoise method but without both liqueur de tirage and
degorgement, thus the possibility to find sediment.



Hey, this Johnson guy knows what he's saying: these are the best
producers around, apart this Graziano I din't know of. Bellei
(too pricey IMHO) and Cavicchioli are in the "Lambrusco di
Sorbara" DOC area, in Modena, while the others are in the
Reggiano DOC area or "Colli di Scandiano e Canossa" DOC area,
both in Reggio Emilia. The DOC areas in Reggio Emilia are just
two: one for the hills ("Colli di Scandiano e Canossa") and one
for the lowland ("Reggiano") while in Modena they did cut three
area based on the main variety of Lambrusco grapes used:
"Grasparossa di Castelvetro" in the hills, "Sorbara" in the
middle, along the Via Emilia, and "Salamino di Santa Croce" in
the lowland towards the river Po. Parma also produces lambrusco
in it's only DOC area: "Colli di Parma".



True, one example is Cantine Riunite from Reggio Emilia: they
produce both cheap plonk and good quality lambrusco, and the good
one is labeled "Cuvee dei Fondatori" (three styles: Grasparossa,
Reggiano and Sorbara) or it is labeled "Novecento" with a silver
label. Another who makes both plonk and good lambrusco is Ermete
medici, whose Concerto I consider to be the best Lambrusco
around, for about 4,10 euros: he also produces a line priced
around 2 euros per bottle, which it is noticeably better than the
Riunite bottles of the same price tag.
All these Lambruscos are sparkling, but there is also someone
vinificating not-sparkling lambrusco, as Rinaldini: theyr Moro
del Moro and Vigna del Picchio are both ageworty reds averaging
15 euros the first and 9 the latter. The MdM is made from raisins
almost like an Amarone and this adds up to its body, making it an
ageworthy, structurated velvety red. No doubt, Moro del Moro is
the best wine from Reggio Emilia, and in the next few weeks I'm
going at the wineyard to get my Christmas fix of Moro del Moro ;)

BTW - This year my "Christmas fix tour" will start at Picci in
Cavriago for Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, then continue on to
Rinaldini for wine and then jump to Collecchio, Parma, for 36 and
60 months old Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
"It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it" :)))
--
Vilco
Think Pink , Drink Rose'

 

Mi e' parso che Vilco abbia scritto:





I forgot one thing, Acellotta. It is a variety of Lambrusco often
used to add color to wines, but not only lambrusco: it gets sold
in all italy.
--
Vilco
Think Pink , Drink Rose'