Lambrusco di Sorbara Secco 'Vecchia Modena Premium'

Lambrusco gets a bad wrap. Too often associated with syrupy-sweet, dirt cheap bottles your Aunt drank in the 1990s, the wine has often been pushed to the back-row or altogether removed from "serious" wine shops and restaurant lists. But in reality, Lambrusco is a rustic, sparkling wine that has a long history in the region of Romagna. Until recent times, the wine was produced by individual families solely for consumption by themselves and their neighbors. In the '80's large scale producers, seeing an economic opportunity, began bottling the aforementioned syrupy monstrosities, but in the last few decades, many local winemakers began to show what the regions wines could really do.

Lambrusco, particularly dry Lambrusco, is such a fun food wine, elevating simple meals to celebratory events. Its the perfect pizza wine, but also goes amazingly with burgers or tacos.

Cleto Chiarli's 'Vecchia Modena Premium' is light bodied, with a nose of strawberries, raspberries and sour cherries, with fresh minerality. While labeled as Secco (or Dry), I find there is just a hint of residual sugar, not enough for me to consider off-dry, but just a hint to round it out, and it kindof reminds me of a light Campari Spritz.

11.0% ABV