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Lambrusco: the ultimate barbecue wine. Hailing from Emilia-Romagna, the only region of Italy that comes anywhere near spanning the entire expanse between the Adriatic and the Ligurian seas (the southernmost corner of Liguria blocks it from completing this distinction completely). Here, tucked between famous Venezie, idyllic Toscana, and legendary Piemonte, a huge swath of farmland gave rise to the tradition of balsamic vinegar, and while a wine that smells like that is clearly flawed, the mentality and tradition of dark, complex fruit flavors set against earth, wood, and tang shows in the region's wines, most notably Lambrusco. This frizzante (lightly sparkling) red wine should be served with a light chill and paired with everything from cured meats and olives to slow cooked pork and grilled steaks and mushrooms.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Emilia, the land of Lambrusco, has a revolution brewing (or fermenting, often in bottle). After too many years of industrially-produced mediocrity, Emilia is now home to a small but growing cell of artisanal producers who are farming carefully and returning to the metodo ancestrale of their grandfathers: secondary fermentation in the bottle, without disgorgement. Denny Bini is one of the humble heroes of this renaissance-revolution. He makes 6000 bottles per year from a single hectare of organically-farmed vineyards. Ponente 270 is the sparkling red and is mostly Grasparossa. Rosa dei Venti is the sparkling rosato (Grasparossa and Malbo Gentile). Levante 90 is the sparkling white wine, made from Malvasia. All three are bottle-fermented. Denny also makes our FUSO21 Lambrusco dell’Emilia (a.k.a. the Festa! Label) from practicing organic vineyards from family and friends.
