Lambrusco is on my mind and what better way to talk about it then mentioning Christian Belllei’s view of Lambrusco di Sorbara. Created in 2010 thanks to a little help from his friends, Bellei restored his family’s original winery site in Bomporto near Modena. The family winery was originally founded in 1920. His father Giuseppe wanted to make Lambrusco using the traditional method of secondary fermentation in the bottle. Lambrusco is usually made using the autoclave or tank method rather than the traditional method found in Champagne.

Of the various Lambrusco grape varieties, Lambrusco di Sorbara is considered the most prestigious by many. Emotions run deep in Lambrusco land. Sorbara is one of the oldest of the Lambrusco varieties and grows well in loose soils of sand and alluvial fans. When grown on clay soils it tends to lose it’s aromas yet be higher in color. Lambrusco di Sorbara was given the DOC classification in 1970. It comes from the area around Bomporto, near Modena. To be a Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC wine, you need at least 60% of the wine to come from Lambrusco di Sorbara.

I love Emilia Romagna and lived there during graduate school in Bologna. While it seems to be one of the lesser known regions of Italy, Emilia Romagna has everything: valleys, hills, coastline, the plains and the Apennine mountain range. It also is home to wonderful art cities and thermal spas, as well as great food and wine. I like the brochure from Cantina Della Volta because they mention not just their wines but also all the DOCs and IGTs in Romagna as well as the DOP products in the region as well as the world famous car companies from what is known as the Motor Valley – Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini, Maserati.