10 Best Lambrusco Wine Bottles: Wine Styles, Tasting Notes, Food Pairings

by Anthony Zhang

Hailing from the Italian wine region of Emilia-Romagna, Lambrusco is a red grape used to make exuberant sparkling red wine and Rosé wines.

It is one of the oldest grape varieties with origins that can be traced back to the 1st-century Etruscan civilization of ancient Italy! Let’s discover the best Lambrusco wine bottles to buy in 2024, some great food pairings, the main Lambrusco regions, winemaking techniques, and the origin story of the Lambrusco grape.

A Few Quick Facts About Lambrusco

Lambrusco is both a variety of grape and a type of wine - a lightly sparkling Italian wine like Prosecco and Asti Spumante.

Emilia Romagna and Lombardy in Northern Italy are the main producers of the Lambrusco grape and its delicious Italian wine.

There are over 60 types of the Lambrusco grape variety, four of which are considered to be of higher quality than the others. These grape varieties are:

Lambrusco Salamino
Lambrusco Maestri
Lambrusco di Sorbara
Lambrusco Grasparossa

10 Best Lambrusco Wines to Buy in 2024 (Including Prices, Tasting Notes)

Here are 10 great Lambruscos that you should definitely try:

2005 Lini 910 In Correggio Rosso Metodo Classico Millesimato ($40)
2013 Cantina della Volta Rose Brut Lambrusco di Sorbara ($34)
2013 Cantina della Volta 'Christian Bellei' Spumante Millesimato ($25)
2016 Vittorio Graziano Fontana dei Boschi Lambrusco Emilia IGT ($24)
2019 Vigneto Saetti 'Il Cadetto' Rosato dell'Emilia IGT ($21)
2015 Paltrinieri 'Grosso' Lambrusco di Modena ($19)
2018 Podere Magia Lambrusco Dell'Emilia ($17)
2020 Vigneto Saetti 'RossoViola' Lambrusco ($13)
Donelli Lambrusco Reggiano ($12)
2018 Riunite Lambrusco ($4)

1. 2005 Lini 910 In Correggio Rosso Metodo Classico Millesimato ($40)

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This dry Lambrusco is clean and fresh bubbly with a deep purple red color.

It is fruity with delicate tasting notes of berries, almonds, and peaches. Pair it with a seafood meal on a summer afternoon or with thinly sliced prosciutto di parma.

2. 2013 Cantina della Volta Rose Brut Lambrusco di Sorbara ($34)

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This is the most expensive Lambrusco from the Lambrusco di Sorbara vineyard. This sparkling Lambrusco has a light berry flavor, with notes of cream and pepper, and tastes exquisite with grilled meat and roasted vegetables.

3. 2013 Cantina della Volta 'Christian Bellei' Spumante Millesimato ($25)

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This sparkling Lambrusco by winemaker Cantina della Volta is a unique one due to its pale golden color, which makes it look like a white wine.

As for the tasting notes, you’ll love the creamy, earthy, and citrus fruit flavours. Pair this frizzante style wine with a meal of shellfish.

4. 2016 Vittorio Graziano Fontana dei Boschi Lambrusco Emilia IGT ($24)

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This is another beautiful frizzante style Lambrusco, with a delicious sour cherry and earthy flavor.

This wine comes from the vineyard of Vittorio Graziano in the Emilia Romagna region. Drink it along with some roasted root vegetables and slices of prosciutto di parma.

5. 2019 Vigneto Saetti 'Il Cadetto' Rosato dell'Emilia IGT ($21)

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Northern Italy truly outdid itself with this beautiful sparkling red dry wine. This sparkling Lambrusco has a deep ruby-amber color and flavors of sour cherry and strawberry, as well as notes of apples and apricots.

Pair this with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for a taste of Italy!

6. 2015 Paltrinieri 'Grosso' Lambrusco di Modena ($19)

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This Lambrusco is a rare, sparkling red from the Cantina Paltrinieri winery located in the Modena area of Romagna.

It has a rich berry flavor that is complemented by lively acidity. Pair this bottle with cured meat and beautifully roasted vegetables.

7. 2018 Podere Magia Lambrusco Dell'Emilia ($17)

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Here’s another dry Lambrusco (secco) to try out for a taste of Italy! This is a well-balanced, juicy, and rich red wine with a magical deep purple color.

The flavor will transport you to the vineyards of Italy - it has hints of black cherry, plum, strawberry fruit, and cream - paired with an Italian spaghetti bolognese!

8. 2020 Vigneto Saetti 'RossoViola' Lambrusco ($13)

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This wine hails from the Azienda Agricola Luciano Saetti winery and has the added benefit of being an organic wine. It’s a great wine for Autumn, so that it would make an excellent Thanksgiving option!

This jammy, juicy wine has a low tannin count and lively acidity. Pair with some traditional dishes from the Romagna region.

9. Donelli Lambrusco Reggiano ($12)

This luscious Lambrusco has pleasant wild berry flavor notes accompanied by cherry cola hints, fennel aromas, and bright acidity.

10. 2018 Riunite Lambrusco ($4)

This all-time favorite Lambrusco by Cantine Riunite showcases balanced sweetness, medium tannin levels, and explosive fruitiness. The palate reveals notes of red berry, cherry, and apple.

How Does Lambrusco Wine Taste?

In general, Lambrusco wines are usually fruity with cherry, blackberry, strawberry as well as orange blossoms, rhubarb, and violet aroma notes. Lambrusco wines are also occasionally creamy and milky.

Lambrusco Wine: Food Pairings and How to Serve It

Lambrusco wines pair well with the rich cuisine of the Emilia Romagna region. Needless to say, Romagna cuisine is a slice of Italy - pasta, pizza, cheese, cured meat, olives, spaghetti bolognese, balsamic vinegar, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

So, perhaps, your next Thanksgiving dinner could be an Italian feast - an artisanal Lambrusco with grilled meat, roasted vegetables, a charcuterie board with delicious prosciutto di parma and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese with warm Italian bread dipped in balsamic vinegar!

Is your mouth watering yet?

Lambrusco is best to drink when young and fresh!

It makes the perfect summer or spring wine because it is best served chilled.

Also, due to its great ability to pair with many types of dishes, it can make an excellent dinner wine all year round.

The 5 Lambrusco DOC Wine Regions

Lambrusco wine can only be made in Romagna and Lombardy.

There are five DOC regions that are designated as Lambrusco producers in Emilia Romagna and Lombardy. (DOC stands for ‘Denominazione di Origine Controllata’ in Italian, which is the Italian certification that regulates the wine region and the winemaking process.)

The DOC regulations stipulate that Lambrusco producers must use a minimum of 85% Lambrusco grapes.

1. Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro

The Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC produces a delicious red wine with one of the highest tannin counts of all Lambrusco wines.

It has a rich, deep purple colour that reflects the violet and berry fragrance of the wine. It is mainly produced in Modena, one of the smaller wine-producing regions.

2. Lambrusco Reggiano

This Italian region produces sweet Lambrusco Reggiano with a fruity taste and high residual sugar levels. Like the Grasparossa di Castelvetro, it is a red wine with a lovely floral aroma. However, the Reggiano has a low tannin count.

The sweet wine versions of Reggiano contain up to 15% Ancellotta grapes.

3. Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce

There are two versions of this Lambrusco variety, a dry wine that is light and semi-sparkling, and a semi-sweet version.

This wine has a distinct ruby red color with purplish hues. The wine is bottled young, and like its counterparts, it has a floral and fruity flavor.

4. Lambrusco di Sorbara

This is a unique Lambrusco grape variety, as the Lambrusco vines in this region bloom with beautiful flowers increasing the floral flavor profile of the wine. This DOC produces both Lambrusco Rosè and sparkling red wine.

5. Lambrusco Mantovano

Lambrusco Mantovano is the only DOC in the Lombardy region permitted to make Lambrusco wine (apart from the DOCs in the Emilia Romagna region.) This is usually a dry wine, which is either made as a red wine or as a rosè.

It has an exquisite ruby color and a delightful floral aroma. The wine’s alcohol by volume (ABV) is relatively low but higher than the other Lambrusco varieties because it is dry.

Lambrusco Winemaking Techniques

The wine is twice-fermented, and this is what makes it slightly bubbly. This fermentation process also bolsters the flavor and freshness of the wine.

There are two fermentation methods used to turn the Lambrusco grape variety into a lovely fizzy glass of sparkling Lambrusco:

One is a traditional process of making Italian wine in the frizzante style, where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle.
The other is the modern, widely used Charmat method. In the Charmat method, the secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The Charmat method is more commonly used by most Prosecco and Lambrusco producers.

Let’s also take a look at the grape’s past.

The Origin Story of Lambrusco

Lambrusco dates far back, all the way to the time of the ancient Etruscans who were around in Italy in 90BC.

The wine was extremely popular even until the late 20th century. However, in the 1970s, mass-produced bulk imported Lambrusco got a bad name as a cheap, sugary-sweet bottle of wine.

In the US, it might be difficult to disassociate artisanal Lambrusco from the soda-like Riunite Lambrusco that dominated the shelves during that period.

However, the time of poorly-made Lambrusco has passed, and it has made a come-back as the delightful, sparkling red wine from the classical world.

Savor Delicious Red Sparkling Wines at Any Occasion!

The Lambrusco red sparkling wine is fun to drink and appeals to the most serious wine lovers and amateur wine enthusiasts!

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