Lambrusco wine: the sparkling red of Emilia-Romagna
Lambrusco is both a family of grapes and the lightly sparkling wine made from them on the flat, fertile land around Modena, Reggio Emilia and Parma, and across the Po around Mantua in Lombardy. It is the wine Emilia drinks with its own food: purple foam, bright acidity and red fruit. The sweet, mass-market bottles that defined Lambrusco abroad in the 1970s and 1980s came largely from the Reggiano zone, and hid how serious the best of it can be. Today dry frizzante leads, alongside bottle-fermented and metodo classico wines.
Most Lambrusco is red, but the grapes also make pale, rosé-coloured wines with a gentle, crunchy fruit. Both are here, from everyday frizzante to traditional-method sparkling wine that can stand next to good Champagne.
Lambrusco di Sorbara, Grasparossa, Salamino and Maestri
There is no single Lambrusco grape. Each variety has its own zone and character, and the label usually names it.
Lambrusco di Sorbara
The palest and most delicate, grown on the alluvial plain north of Modena. Sorbara gives pink to light ruby wines with violet, wild strawberry and citrus notes and the sharpest acidity. Cavicchioli's Vigna del Cristo Secco, Paltrinieri's Sant'Agata and the bottle-fermented Omaggio a Gino Friedmann from Cantina di Carpi e Sorbara are classic examples. Christian Bellei's Cantina della Volta in Bomporto makes Sorbara by the Champagne method with long lees ageing: the BrutRosso and a vintage Rosé Brut.
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro
The darkest and most tannic, from the hills south of Modena. Named for its red stalks, it gives deep purple wines with black cherry and a firmer grip. Corte Manzini's L'Acino Secco is a textbook dry Grasparossa from Castelvetro.
Lambrusco Salamino and Maestri
Salamino, named for its sausage-shaped bunches, is the most widely planted variety and the most aromatic, with raspberry and rose. It is the backbone of Bergianti's unfiltered, bottle-refermented wines from Carpi, Lusvardi's organic frizzante and spumante, and Medici Ermete's metodo classico Gran Concerto. Maestri is the grape of the Parma hills, used by Ceci for its Otello range and by Camillo Donati for his naturally refermented Lambrusco.
How Lambrusco is made: frizzante, rifermentato and metodo classico
Most Lambrusco gets its bubbles from a second fermentation in pressurised tank (the Charmat method), which keeps the fruit fresh. Some growers have revived the older way: refermenting in bottle on the wine's own yeasts, unfiltered and slightly cloudy. Look for "rifermentato in bottiglia" or "sui lieviti" on the label, as on the wines from Camillo Donati and Bergianti. Metodo classico, the Champagne technique, gives finer bubbles and more complexity from time on the lees.
Sweetness is stated on the label. Secco is dry, semisecco off-dry, amabile semi-sweet and dolce sweet. For food, start with secco.
What to eat with Lambrusco: food pairing from Emilia
Its bubbles and acidity cut through fat, so pour it with Prosciutto di Parma, culatello and mortadella, with gnocco fritto, Parmigiano Reggiano, tortellini, lasagne and grilled sausage. Sorbara suits delicate cured meats. Grasparossa stands up to ragù and roast pork. The rosé styles make a fine aperitivo. Serve it cool, around 10 to 12°C. For more from the same region, explore our Emilia-Romagna wines, or the wider range of Italian wine.
Frequently asked questions about Lambrusco wine
Is Lambrusco a red or sparkling wine?
Both. Lambrusco is usually a red wine with a light sparkle (frizzante), with rosé and fully sparkling (spumante) versions too.
Is Lambrusco sweet or dry?
It can be either. Check the label: secco means dry, amabile and dolce mean sweet.
What is the difference between Lambrusco and Prosecco?
Prosecco is a white sparkling wine from the Glera grape in north-east Italy. Lambrusco is usually red, made from the Lambrusco grapes of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, and has more tannin and red fruit. Compare them side by side in our Prosecco collection.
How long does Lambrusco keep?
Most Lambrusco is best young, within a year or two of the vintage. Metodo classico versions can age a little longer.
What is Lambrusco Reggiano?
Lambrusco Reggiano is the largest Lambrusco DOC, around Reggio Emilia. It covers dry and sweet styles, often blending several Lambrusco varieties with a little Ancellotta.