Don't Say No to Lambrusco - The Fizzy Red Wine
Do you really know Lambrusco?
Today's artisanal Lambrusco made by youthful winemakers passionate for the grape bears little resemblance to the mass produced soda pop Lambruscos imported to the USA in the 1970s and 1980s. It was such a successful run that Lambrusco became the most imported wine in the 70s and 80s! For many years, even in Italy, Lambrusco was an industrially produced, simple, sparkling wine which tasted a lot like a sweet soda with alcohol. Often wines were pasteurized, and producers swapped the labor intensive classical method for charmat or tank method commonly used to make Prosecco. This style of wine fell out of favor, and over 40% of Lambrusco vines were removed and replaced with other grapes or agricultural products between 2000 and 2010.
This is a cluster of Lambrusco Salamino grapes at Bugno Martino about to be harvested. It’s called Salamino because the cluster looks like a salami.
But today there’s an artisanal movement in Italy's Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy of Lambrusco made by a younger generation of producers like Vero's Bugno Martino. These artisanal makers pay greater attention to the land and in the cellar only use natural fermentation. The resulting wines are really different than the Lambrusco of the 1970s and 1980s. Instead of being fruity, flabby, and syrupy, today's Lambrusco wines are vibrant, complex, dry, elegant, sparkling red wines made from one of the 60 or more varieties of the Lambrusco grape.
Lambrusco, a family of 17 grape varieties, with some saying over 60, are considered Italy's oldest grapes, going back to the Etruscans who were wine growers way before the Romans. One of the most autochthonous wines in the world (meaning native to the place where it is found), Lambrusco evolved to photosynthesize more efficiently and to combat the humid climate and powdery mildew by climbing trees.
Unlike other grapes, Lambrusco vines grow spontaneously from seeds. Most of the time if you want to grow a grapevine, you use a root stock to protect from the dreaded phylloxera, then you graft the type of grape you want onto that root stock. But with Lambrusco, you can actually start from the seed and get the vine you want, with no grafting required.
Lambrusco grows mostly in Italy's Emilia-Romagna (71%) region with only 9% of production grown in Lombardy, and the rest found in Puglia. The six most important grape varieties are:
1. Lambrusco Grasparossa
Grows best in hillsides with clay soils producing grapes with thick skins and dark fruit that evolve into structured wines that are earthy and tannic.
2. Lambrusco di Sorbara
Grows near Sorbara, a town north of Modena. This grape prefers sandy soils and produces grapes that make a more elegant wine that is pinkish in color, making it seem like a sparkling rosè wine. Dioecious, Lambrusco di Sorbara is female only so it needs to be planted with another Lambrusco to pollinate, often Salamino.
3. Lambrusco Salamino
The most abundantly planted of all Lambrusco, Salamino has a bit of everything, acidity, tannins and fruit. It is also often blended with its brethren.
4. Lambrusco Maestri
Its name derives from Villa Maestri in Parma, this is considered the softest Lambrusco identifiable by distinct bubble gum aromas.
5. Lambrusco Marani
CA more rare variety to find, Marani is more delicate and lightly colored like Sorbara.
6. Lambrusco Viadanese:
Native to Mantua, in the Lombardy region just north of Emilia Romagna (where Bugno Martino estate winery is based, this is a flavorful Lambrusco typically made as a dry wine, with some semi-dry versions made.
Ready to say yes to an artisanal dry red sparkling Lambrusco?
Raffaella and Giuseppe of Bugno Martino, enjoying a glass of Lambrusco in their Mantova, Italy vineyards.
If yes, consider organic, natural wines from grower-maker Bugno Martino who draws inspiration from how Lambrusco was grown and made in the olden days.
On a nine hectare vineyard, Bugno Martino owners, husband and wife Giuseppe and Raffaella Zavanella, grow four kinds of wine grapes. They live with their two toddlers in San Benedetto Po near the Po River in the province of Mantua where they have a new tasting room where they pour their Lambrusco natural wines which they grow sustainably and are certified organic.
Vero has in stock for World Lambrusco Day June 21 two Bugno Martino Lambruscos which winery owners Giuseppe Zavanella and Raffaella Merlin call a “project of love first of all“. As Raffaella says “Giuseppe and I fell in love 20 years ago so this is a love story. We had our jobs in different branches (of wine). Giuseppe is deeply connected to sustainability for the environment. We studied a lot about wines particularly organic and natural wine making.”
When Giuseppe’s father Giovanni retired, “we discovered the old family farm was perfect for a winery to follow a natural and organic philosophy,” says Raffaella. Fifteen years ago they planted their first vineyard. Today nine hectares of Lambrusco are planted on their estate of 17 hectares. The rest of their farmland is used to grow grains, grass and flowers.
Various Lambrusco grapes can be blended to make artisan wine and these represent the future of Lambrusco, says Raffaella. “We are really proud the artisan Lambrusco is increasing day by day,” As these Lambrusco wines are really different from conventional wines, “we are very happy that they are really appreciated. Our mission is to return to Lambrusco its identity.”
The alluvial soil in their vineyards once was the Po river bed. “Our soil ranges from clay to less compact soils,” says Raffaella. This region is hot, humid, often foggy, which is why the vines originally climbed the trees to compete with mildew. The moisture makes the area a challenging environment to grow grapes naturally but they “do everything natural for the land, returning the organic material back to the soil,” according to Raffaella. They even have a meteorological sensor that analyzes the humidity of the climate in the vineyard so tells them how much copper and sulphur to use to combat the mildew so prevalent in the area.
Celebrate the summer with some delicious natural Lambrusco
Here are dry, sparkling red wines from Bugno Matilde to celebrate summer:
Bugno Martino Rosso Matilde Lambrusco
A blend of Lambrusco Salamino and Ancelotta, this Lambrusco Mantovano DOP wine honors the famous medieval countess Matilde of Canossa who had a key role in the fight between the Papacy and the Empire around the 11th and 12th century by reclaiming the lands around San Benedetto Po. Matilde also helped get area vineyards growing.
Blending in Ancelotta grapes adds fruit and color to balance the freshness and earthiness of Lambrusco Salamino. This wine which is made using the Charmat method where a secondary fermentation takes place in a tank. It pairs great with pizza, as well as sausage based dishes (with having 7 pigs per person in Mantua, what do you expect!)
Bugno Martino Essentia Lambrusco
This 100% Lambrusco Salamino wine is made in the ancestral method, how Lambrusco was made in the olden days, by continuing the fermentation in the bottle, aka pet nat style. It is not disgourged which means that the wine evolves over time with the lees in the bottle, aka col fondo. It has a complex savoury notes and flavors, liked to Umami, making it pair well with savory dishes, from Riso alla Pilota (a traditional dish from Mantua) to Asian food. The name references Bugno Martino's dedication to land, sun, time and work…the Essentials!
Don't say no to Lambrusco! Say yes with Bugno Martino. Learn more about Bugno Martino in our Blog.
