Lambrusco, the “humble Champagne” of Emilia as famous as Ferrari, celebrates 50 years of its DOC

In the 1950s, in Rai’s first food and wine reportage, the master of Italian food and wine journalism Mario Soldati in his unforgettable “Viaggio nella valle del Po”, in search of genuine food among the people, customs, products, recipes and rituals of a rural Italy rich in culinary traditions, recounted Lambrusco, with its popular and poetic narrative, to the first viewers of Italian television, later calling it the “humble Champagne of Emilia Romagna” in “Vino al Vino” in the late 1960s, a milestone of Italian literature and of our profession as wine communicators. The 1990s, on the other hand, are the years in which Luciano Ligabue, the rocker from Correggio, with a rock introduction of the Inno di Mameli, sings in “Lambrusco & popcorn” about two lands he loves, Emilia, his own, and the United States, in a sort of journey to be traveled between two distant yet close mountains, also thanks to the most “sparkling” red of Italian wine, which best encapsulates in the bottle its territory and the bond with its own people, and which has meanwhile made its fortune in the world starting from America itself. But among its illustrious admirers, it is worth mentioning the master of cinema Federico Fellini, Lambrusco’s “ante litteram” ambassador in the world, the great singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini, for whom it is one of the wines of the heart, but also maestro Luciano Pavarotti, the greatest Italian tenor who “was a great Lambrusco lover”, as Nicoletta Mantovani told us in an interview a few years ago. And today, Lambrusco is the most exported and sold Italian wine in the world, still beloved even by Italians, and its most historic DOCs turn 50 years old, on March 31, the Consortium commemorates it by celebrating the creative energy of Emilia, which is also that of Italy, uniting the symbols par excellence of Italy’s Food Valley and Motor Valley, and of our know-how in the collective imagination, loved especially by the youngest but which have written important pages of Italian history, crossing all generations: Lambrusco, precisely, the most “pop” red of Italian wine, and Ferrari, the most famous “red” of made in Italy, with the celebrations hosted in the exceptional setting of the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena.
The Consorzio Tutela Lambrusco signs a major event, in which, among the guests, WineNews will also participate, to celebrate the achievement of 50 years of the most historic Lambrusco DOCs at the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena, dedicated to the life and work of Enzo Ferrari, the great founder, in 1943 in Maranello, of the Ferrari car manufacturer. A place that symbolizes the creativity of Emilia, where Lambrusco and the Prancing Horse, unite at the table, in a dinner where the labels of the 70 producers of the Consortium will marry the dishes of leading chefs from Modena and Reggio Emilia: Emilio Barbieri (Ristorante Anna), Stefano Corghi (Osteria Santa Chiara, Ristorante Il Luppolo e L’Uva) and Andrea Medici (Osteria in Scandiano). Preceding it, will be a tasting at the Consortium’s headquarters, to tell through the glass, an overview of the six Denominations Lambrusco di Sorbara Doc, Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Colli di Scandiano e di Canossa, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Modena Doc and Reggiano Doc, and of the different types of Lambrusco production. A universe of nuances and colors that, with its fresh and pleasant wines, thanks to the different varieties, territories and production methods used, has versatility among its strengths. From sparkling-which accounts for more than 95% of production-to Metodo Classico and Ancestrale, from dry to amabile versions.
An overview that, together with the Consortium’s other Denominations, Reno Doc and Bianco di Castelfranco Emilia Igt, recounts a territory made up of 16,600 hectares planted with vines between Modena and Reggio Emilia, 10,000 of which are dedicated to Lambrusco, for a production of more than 46 million bottles of Lambrusco Doc, to which are added about 115 million bottles of Lambrusco Emilia Igt, which fall under the protection of the Vini Emilia Consortium. Lambrusco is one of the most popular wines in the world, and in addition to Italy - going into detail about foreign countries - Germany and the United States represent the other markets with the most important volumes. Among the emerging ones, on the other hand, Asia, with China and Japan, and South America, with Mexico and Brazil, as well as the United Kingdom, stand out. Overall, between Doc and (especially) Igt, 60% of production crosses national borders.
The Consortium for the Protection of Lambrusco was born in January 2021 from the merger of the three previous bodies for the protection of the famous Emilian wine, namely the Consortium for the Protection of Lambrusco of Modena, the Consortium for the Protection and Promotion of Dop Reggiano and Colli di Scandiano e Canossa Wines, and the Consortium for the Protection of Reno Doc Wines. “What has led to the unification of the varied world of Lambrusco has been a very long journey”, explains the president of the Consortium, Claudio Biondi, “now our goal is to pursue the most effective communication strategies and promotion projects, both nationally and internationally while continuing to make a contribution in a sector that, like everyone else, has suffered the repercussions of the recent pandemic”. And to do so, the Consortium has also created a new “brand identity”, which blends some of the essential elements of the territory and the wine it represents, with the shades of color that Lambrusco takes on according to the many souls of this grape: from light pink, to ruby, to purple and those that recall the characteristic small red fruits, whose aroma is one of the most identifying factors of its bubbles. After all, “Lambrusco is the wine of colors, one different from the other”, adds the director of the Consortium, Giacomo Savorini, “in the world it is identified as a dark sparkling red wine: we have the need to make people understand that there are many varieties of Lambrusco, with different colors and scents, which can convey completely different experiences and which, thanks to their versatility and wide range of quality references, can be perfectly matched with different and numerous types of cuisine”.
A need that translates into communication from “young to young”, and that starts with the “young group” of producers of the Consortium, ambassadors of Lambrusco in the world who speak two languages perfectly, know the product and are eager to share with new consumers, their tradition. The new generation of Lambrusco producers has energy, has traveled, has visited and tasted wines produced in the best wine-growing areas of the world: they are ready to bring ideas and initiatives and to tell everyone about the real Lambrusco. They produce and represent a wine that, although historic, has extremely contemporary organoleptic characteristics.