ReThinkLambrusco

Up until 1995 only cloyingly sweet, low alcohol (3%-10%), extremely fizzy, 'for export only' white (bianco) and red (rosso) Lambrusco versions were shipped to the USA and around the world. Today, it's no longer impossible to find serious (min. 11% alc.), top-quality 'secco & red' Lambruscos in LA, SF, NY and London.

#ReThinkLambrusco

"We are wild about Lambruscos we’ve been tasting as of late. Once thought of as a sweet, insipid lifeless stuff that sold itself as a beverage to pour over ice here in the US for years, but the real Lambrusco is revered in Italy, especially in Emilia Romagna, as the perfect wine, weather dry or off-dry, to serve with slices or slabs of cured meat and hunks of sweet and salty Parmigiano-Reggiano.

It might be a bit of a challenge for us to convince people to give these serious, deep red and frothy sparklers a try, but we’re up to it as we know just how freaking cool these wines are.

Serious importers are bringing in the real deal [min. 11% alcohol] now folks, the lush and full, spicy and crave worthy sparkling reds, be the first of your friends to be all over it!" - Sans Dosage

Real (min. 11%)
vs
Industrial Lambrusco

"There are differences between different Lambruscos.

The main division is between 'proper' Lambrusco - dry (*) [indicated by the Italian term 'secco' on the label], frothy, strawberry-fruited and with a bitter twist on the finish (**), low in tannin [but high in acidity] and ideal for drinking with ...[food]... -

AND

industrial Lambrusco [3% to 10% alcohol which is mostly exported to Brazil, UK, Germany, USA, and other countries but NOT served in restaurants in the area of production (Emilia)], sold in screw-capped bottles [but not always], often sweetened [with RCGM = rectified concentrated grape must], and with only a distant memory of the refreshing character that makes real [secco, red, frizzante, minimum 11% alcohol, estate-bottled] Lambrusco so desirable.

Proper Lambrusco...is also more expensive [about $15.00 - $30.00/pp] and more difficult to find outside the region, and especially outside Italy; sweetened Lambrusco was, from the late 1970s, exported to the USA in huge quantities.

Pink, white and low alcohol versions were also invented. There is no White Lambrusco grape: Lambrusco Bianco is made by vinifying the grapes without the skins." - Oz Clarke

"Commercial Yeast '71B' gives cheap red wines banana & bubble gum aromas, and make them taste artificial." A typical taste and flavor in industrial Lambruscos.

(*) 'Secco': Lambruscos that may be a) bone-dry, b) very dry or c) slightly off-dry - but never sweet.

(**) 'Bitter': “The history of Lambrusco goes back a very long way and includes the allure of the earliest testimonials penned by the poets and writers of the Classical Age (Virgil, Cato and Varro) who in their works refer to a “Labrusca vitis”, i.e. a wild vine variety that produced fruits with a bitter taste that commonly grew around the edges of the fields.” (see) - Hence, quality 'real' Lambrusco finishes on a bitter ('brusco'= sour) note.

vinissimo
There has never bn that much written abt real, dry Lambrusco; yet some wine writers continue 2 refer 2 Lambrusco as being exclusively sweet.

1tonyvenice @bengoldacre a great lambrusco, dry as an otter's pocket can't be beaten

LambruscoSummer
"This Italian sparkler has long been misunderstood. Today’s new versions can be floral, muscular, and even dry." http://fb.me/vrKRxkqT

LambruscoSummer
Lambrusco on the "lower end" is fun! Lambrusco on the 'other end' (artisanal, secco) can be as sophisticated as any other dry red wine.

MarkOldman
Indeed...real Lambrusco delish! RT: According to @MarkOldman Lambrusco’s been unfairly painted as ...R Burgundy’s mustache.”

LambruscoSummer
"In the States Lambrusco has gotten a bad rep 4 being way 2 sweet. In Modena it tastes just perfect." bit.ly/mignzH
('cause it's dry)

madaboutwine
ciao vix, try a lambrusco rosso,excellent creamy, mousse texture full of fruit!..steer clear of supermkts, go to specialist w.shop

There_Goes_Jen "Lambrusco".. is too sweet for me.. but its weird cause I'll drink "Pina Colada's" o_O. I had to force myself to drink tht Lambrusco.. I was so glad whn I was dne with it.

Charles Hardcastle of Joseph Barnes Wines
discusses true Lambrusco (part 1 and part 2):

This video has been watched over 1,100 times.

Wine #1

Cantine Ceci Lambrusco rosso secco
'Terre Verdiane'

(According to Gambero Rosso this Lambrusco is made from purchased wine and re-fermented in tank (charmat); info verified.)*

Wine #2

Camillo Donati Lambrusco 'Il Mio'
website

Estate Bottled; re-fermented in bottle

Wine #3

Tesco Lambrusco Bianco Light

(Another review of Lambrusco Bianco)

True Lambrusco is here to stay!

A Million Cooks | Casali | Pronto

"Top quality Lambrusco is never sold in bottles with screw tops, but NOT every Lambrusco bottle closed with a cork necessarily contains top-quality Lambrusco."

mushroom cork

screw cap

@seccoandred Thank you for leading the charge in #Lambrusco Wines! I have tasted some of the best in Emilia & it's not all cheap sweet reds.
— Ronellee Leyson(@SexandTheWines) November 15, 2012

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* Please note: In the wine industry we often rely exclusively on producer and product information that has been communicated to us by sales reps, importers, wholesalers, wine writers, and other people in the industry. One of Lambruscoday's missions is to try to verify as much information as possible about any lambruscos mentioned on this website directly with the producer. Let the chips fall where they may.

"The Sound of Sweet Red is Ka-Ching."