Lambrusco- Italy

Six gallon pail of Lambrusco Italian grape juice.

Lambrusco is the name of both an Italian red wine grape and a wine made principally from the grape. The grapes and the wine originate from four zones in Emilia-Romagna and one in Lombardy, principally around the central provinces of Modena, Parma, Reggio-Emilia, and Mantua. The grape has a long winemaking history with archaeological evidence indicating that the Etruscans cultivated the vine.[1]

The most highly rated of its wines are the frothy, frizzante (slightly sparkling) red wines that are designed to be drunk young from one of the eight Lambrusco denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regions. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, sweet Lambrusco was the biggest selling import wine in the United States.[3] During that time the wine was also produced in a white and rosé style made by limiting the skin contact with the must.[1]

Most Lambruscos are made from more than one Lambrusco variety and additionally often blended with a number of specific blending grapes (max. 15%), such as Ancellotta (for color), Marzemino, Malbo Gentile, Cabernet Sauvignon (for body and structure), and others.