Walking home from the wine shop with a bottle of Lambrusco Emilia from Folicello, a natural wine producer out of Emilia Romagna, I thought about the book club I belonged to in Lucca, Italy, many years ago. We were meeting at the end of a feverish July to talk about Toni Morrison’s Beloved. The pizzeria where we gathered had the air conditioning running, but no one could feel it. Too many pizzas. Too many ovens. Too many people. Too much July.
We were ordering wine for the table, and Carolyn, our leader, said that a chilled white would probably be best under these conditions.
“Oh, but I miss red wine,” she laughed, and many of us around her shared in that lament.
So the waitress brought us a sparkling red. It was cold and refreshing and I can’t tell you anything about the region, grape, or vintage. I know it hit the spot.
Summer Picnic Wine
More than five years later, I decide to bring a sparkling red to a dinner party. The dinner party is really a Supper Club that two of my friends started last year. Eight to 10 of us get together every six weeks or so to prepare a meal. And then we eat that meal, of course, and we talk about the books we’re reading and the shows we are binging. We talk about politics and kids and pets and sometimes men but most times not. We talk a lot about travel, too, and we have a theme for every meal we plan and make together. May’s theme is Summer Picnic.
The Lambrusco seems right because this is Florida and like that pizzeria in Lucca, we are sweaty but craving red wine. Summer arrives early around here, and it always overstays its welcome.
The Il Rosso Lambrusco is described in the shop as “glugable.” I kind of love that, and I surprised myself by grabbing it off the shelf, walking by the whites I thought I would have selected, and hoping my friends will approve.
Eight of us gathered last Friday night to prepare chicken sausage hoagies, vegan meatloaf, baked beans, broccoli slaw, fruit, slutty brownies, and ceviche. After sipping some rosé and enjoying a round of Aperol spritz cocktails while we cooked, it was time to sit down at the table.
I opened the Lambrusco to a collective “ooh” as the cork was popped. Glasses were held out. Sips were taken.
Tasting Notes
I have to agree with the description. It is glugable.
The fizz is so soft and refreshing. As it pours into the glass, there is a celebration of light red colors bouncing around in the glass. Deeper on the bottom and lighter where those bubbles percolate at the top. The wine calms quickly. It’s so pretty to look at and so juicy to smell.
On the palate, it is dry and hits the very back of the tongue. We have blackberry. We have a hint of garden herbs wafting in through a window. I like the acidity and the burst of tart cherry. There’s something spicy happening, but that’s almost unnoticeable because it’s fruity and light but not sweet and…what do the wine experts say? Well-balanced. There’s a long finish. A lingering.
The Grapes
I was surprised to learn that there are more than 60 Lambrusco grape varieties running around Emilia-Romagna and even parts of Lombardy. This particular bottle is a 2023 with 11% alcohol, and blended Lambrusco varieties. I have tasted a Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, DOC, from 2021 which is 100% Grasparossa, and I’ve also tried a Lambrusco made from 100% Salamino grapes. All of them exceptional.
You’ll have a hard time finding a terrible Lambrusco, unless you’re still committed to that 1970s version of Riunite. Remember those commercials for “Riunite on Ice…That’s Nice.” Cringe. Don’t put your Lambrusco on ice. That was not this. Things have improved.
And, if you live in Florida, this is the right wine all summer long when you’re looking for something red and refreshing. Try this wine. Or a similar fizzy red for your upcoming picnic. Maybe Memorial Day!
Cheers to drinking better wine.
by Cari Oleskewicz
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