Q. “Giuseppe, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
A. “I want to be a Vigneron!”

Q. “What to do you want to do with all these grapes?”
A. “I will make Lambrusco, a real good one!”

Q. “Giuseppe, why do you make Lambrusco?”
A. “Because it brings me happiness!”

This summer, let Lambrusco defy your expectations and bring you happiness!

But not just any Lambrusco will do– it needs to be a really good one. And this month, just in time for Lambrusco Day on Friday June 21, the Italian Food Wine Travel group has a few to recommend! See the preview post here and links and titles of participant below.

Here on Wine Predator, we are excited to share two organic Lambrusco from Bugno Martino, Rosso Matilde, and Essentia, their traditionelle method Lambrusco which is such a new product that their website does not yet mention it.

While most Lambrusco comes from Emilia-Romagna (71%) with some from Puglia (20%), these two come from a small 9 hectare organic vineyard in the Mantovano area of the Lombardy region pictured in orange in the lower right of the map below. Lambrusco from this region comprise only 9% of production.

map source https://italianwinecentral.com/lombardia-dop-map/

These two wines definitely defy the expectations most Americans have of Lambrusco, which conquered the market in the 1970s and 1980s with a syrupy sweet low alcohol cherry/grape bubbly.  At a tasting in Beverly Hills a few years ago, I learned otherwise, and convinced Sue as well when we tasted, paired and wrote about three from Medici Ermete in June 2017.

Because of a declining interest in this style of wine, the surface area of plantings decreased 41% between 2000 and 2010.