Lambrusco wine: types, what is it made of, how to choose natural
Lambrusco - sparkling wine comes from Italy, produced from the grapes of the same name in the vicinity of Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont, but Italians prefer to call it "vino frizzante", which means sparkling wine.
Almost all wines from this line are produced with a strength of no more than 6-9 degrees and have a fruit and berry aftertaste and aroma.
What is Lambrusco made of and how is it made
The drink is made from wild red Lambrusco grapes and all its varietal varieties. Also, in rare cases, Ancelotti grapes are added, it practically does not affect the taste, but thanks to it, the color shade becomes more saturated and deeper.
A special technology is used for the production of Lambrusco - Sharma's method, which was made public as early as 1910.
The essence of the technology is secondary fermentation in steel barrels, not in a glass container. And bottled when fermentation is not yet complete.
After opening the bottle and filling the glass, a dense foam should form, which will indicate that the production technology has been followed.
To date, more than 60 varieties of Lambrusco are known, the names of some of them are used as "brands" of wine.
Types of Lambrusco
If at first Lambrusco sparkling wine was exclusively red, now you can find both white and rosé wine. Sparkling wines are made from the same grape variety as red wines, but with a few secrets:
For white wine, the skin of the grapes is removed immediately so that it does not come into contact with the juice.
For rosé, very little skin is left to achieve a light pink color.
The line includes a variety of flavors: from dry, which does not use sugar at all, to semi-sweet and sweet wine.
How to choose natural Lambrusco wine
To choose a real Italian sparkling wine, you should follow a few simple tips:
Buy the drink in large supermarkets or in a branded store. The exception is private distilleries in Italy, where you can see the producer and vineyards.
The label should contain the inscription "traditional or original production method".
It is better to pay attention to red dry wine, this is the only type of Lambrusco that is consumed in the homeland of the drink. Everything else is produced exclusively for export, and a significant share is aimed at the Russian consumer.
A beautiful thick foam should form when filling the glass.
How to serve and what to drink
Lambrusco is a versatile wine, it goes well with seafood, salads, pizza, fatty meat dishes, fruits and cheeses.
It is important to remember the only rule that it is best to serve the drink chilled to 7-9 degrees.
Popular brands of Lambrusco
Salamino di Santa Croce
A dry or semi-sweet red wine, it is best drunk young in combination with cotecchino (Italian delicacy - pork sausages).
Lambrusco Mantovano
Red wine with a light aroma of strawberries, plums and cherries. Goes well with authentic Italian risotto.
Lambrusco dell'Emilia Bianco
White semisweet wine with a golden hue and a light aroma of pear and pineapple.
Lambrusco dell'Emilia Rosso Amabile
Red semi-sweet wine of rich pomegranate color with a heady bouquet of aromas of spices, meadow flowers and subtle notes of cherry juice. For its preparation, 3 varieties of Lambrusco grapes and very little Ancelotti are used.
Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC
Red wine produced from the Lambrusco di Sorbara and Lambrusco Salamino grape varieties grown in the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena. It has a rich red hue, which is made in dry and semi-dry versions.
Bondamat Ancellotta dell'Emilia IGT
Deep red wine with a rich sweet dessert flavor. This is the only wine brand that uses only 10% Lambrusco and 85% Ancelotti grapes.
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro
Red wine with an inky hue and a light aroma of plum, cherry, violet and strawberry. If you gently pour it into a glass, a beautiful pink foam is formed.
Lambrusco di Modena
Unusual wine with special flavors of black berries and creamy mousse, thick consistency.
Five differences between Champagne and Lambrusco
The only thing these drinks have in common is the presence of bubbles and similarity in bottle design.
In France (the birthplace of real champagne), there is no such grape variety as Lambrusco.
Different production technology. For the production of Lambrusco, the Sharma method is used, and for champagne, a special champagne technology is used.
There is no such thing as red champagne, unlike wine.
Champagne is never sweet, it is made exclusively dry.
Wine is made from a "wild" grape variety, and champagne is made from noble varieties, and if it is made from the Lambrusco variety, the taste will never be similar.
Interesting facts about Lambrusco
According to archaeologists, Lambrusco wine was known long before the formation of the Roman Empire and the heyday of Italy itself, and it is quite possible to believe that this drink was drunk by the Etruscans (an ancient civilization that inhabited modern Tuscany in the first millennium).). n. э.).
There is also a mythological story of the appearance of Lambrusco. It was told by Luigi Bertelli at the end of the XIX century. It says that during the bloody battle between Modena and Bologna, the Roman gods Venus, Bacchus and Mars decided to support the Modena people.
Bacchus, as a sign of this, presented the owner of the tavern with a grape seed and ordered him to plant it. A rich harvest of grapes grew in that place, from which they began to make wine.
And the name Lambrusco appeared thanks to the questions of tavern visitors about what kind of wine the owner served them, to which the old man always answered: "L’amo brusco, which means "I love tart".
The most important year in the history of Lambrusco is 1938. It was during this period that five families of the best winemakers of the country united and created the Cantina Puianello empire. Now the company exports almost 80% of its product, and this is not surprising, because they own 300 hectares of vineyards with different varieties of Lambrusco grapes.
In America, this sparkling wine has taken a special place in the ratings of favorite drinks of Americans. And in terms of sales, only Coca-Cola can match it.
Update: 19.11.2017
Category: Wine and Vermouth