Lambrusco Maestri vineyards in Emilia-Romagna. Supplied Photo by Supplied

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About 25 years ago, I made my only visit to Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, the culinary heart of Italy, as well as the epicentre for fast cars and motorcycles, like Ferraris and Ducatis.

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This part of Italy has given us Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar (from Modena) and Prosciutto di Parma, as well as lasagna verde. The latter, by the way, is far superior to the ricotta and mozzarella-laden glop that passes for lasagna in North America. A slow-simmered meat sauce consisting of ground beef and pork is layered between sheets of hand-rolled spinach pasta — alternating with layers of besciamella, a.k.a. bechamel — and the only cheese is a dusting of Parmigiano between the layers. And as it turns out, it goes nicely with a glass of Lambrusco.

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I had been in the wine business for about 10 years at this point and was aware of the local wines — and there are many — but the one I had ignored was a bubbly red known as Lambrusco. I had recollections of a particular brand being advertised by a dancing Marlene Dietrich lookalike, advocating enjoying it over ice because that was “nice.” My parents drank it, another warning sign, but sitting out on a sun-drenched piazza, I couldn’t help but notice the locals were enjoying it with paninis and other culinary delights. There were no fancy big-bowled wine glasses, no swirling and gargling, and no verbose ruminations about the complexity along with notes of forest floor and salinity.

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I asked my server for a glass of one of the better ones, and he poured me a tumbler from the Paltrinieri winery called Solco. It had a hint of sweetness along with a big core of juicy blackberry fruit, and it was delicious, thirst-quenching and perfect with my salty meat panini. Italy had shared most of its culinary and viniferous delights with us; why was this one being kept under wraps?

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A cluster of Lambrusco di Sorbara grapes. Supplied Photo by Supplied

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Eventually, around 2010, wine importers started betting that we were ready for a new wave of Italian sparkling wine. I wrote something about it around then, expecting the wine to grow in popularity, but I’m not sure anyone could have predicted the explosive growth that has occurred over the last decade. Italy produces roughly 200 million bottles of the wine a year, making it the world’s largest producer of sparkling wine (Prosecco accounts for a large amount of that stat). The Italians consume 41 million of those bottles, so it’s safe to say there is now a global thirst for it.

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The drier artisanal styles clock in at about 10 per cent alcohol, appealing to those who want to limit alcohol intake, another reason why the Italians like to enjoy it at lunch. There are three main methods used to give Lambrusco its fizz, each making use of natural carbonation during the fermentation process. There’s the Charmat Method (in a tank, like Prosecco, and the most common method), the Ancestral Method (bottled while the wine is still fermenting, finishing the process in the bottle) and the Classic Method (two fermentations, much like Champagne). As for grapes, there are 60 varieties (and probably more as some have not been identified), but there are 12 primary grapes, with Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Salamino, and Lambrusco Grasparossa serving as the main three.

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The wine has enjoyed a renaissance to be sure, tied mainly to the qualitative improvements that have occurred over the last couple of decades. Most of it falls into the slightly off-dry to semi-sweet range, but I gravitate heavily to the just off-dry versions.

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Moirae Choquette’s new Tomato Wheels Lambrusco. Credit: Brittany Nugent

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Typically, it’s deep purple in colour, but there are rosé and white versions as well that can be delicious. These are high-acid grapes, so they nicely balance whatever residual sugar is present, and that combination makes them ideal with casual fare like paninis, pizza and charcuterie.