Lambrusco

Lambrusco

https://www.delish.com/food/a19781844/what-is-lambrusco/

1970-2009

Italy, United States

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Lambrusco, known best as the Italian red wine grapes and the wine made from such grapes. These special Lambrusco grapes are native to Italy, more specifically Northern Italy. The grapes originate from Emilia-Romagna, Modena, Parma, Reggio-Emilia and Mantua. Within the oldest printed farming manual, De Agri Cultura, from 160 BC, Marcus Cato mentioned these grapes, which demonstrates their age.

A proper commercial promotion of Lambrusco on a national scale started however only after World War II, when Lambrusco was increasingly depicted as "the Italian Coca Cola:" sparkling and refreshing. This kind of rhetoric would be later central to the advertising of the wine across the Ocean.

In 1970, Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce and Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro received the Denomination of protected origin. Later, in 2009, Lambrusco di Modena obtained this certification. The Consortum of Lambrusco has the task to control protect and promote these wines.

It was not long before Lambrusco wine became heavily requested in the United States: in the early postwar decades, the Italian Lambrusco became one of main wines to be largely exported and commercialized in the US.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the sweet Lambrusco wine was the biggest selling imported wine to the United States. During this time, the wine was produced in a red, white and rose style. Harry F. Mariani and his brother John imported the first 100 cases of Riunite Lambrusco in 1967, which was produced by an Italian cooperative in the Emilia -Romagna region. In 1973, Riunite Lambrusco was the nation’s largest selling imported brand. In 1984 the imports of Riunite peaked at 11.2 million cases and accounted for 27% of all foreign wines sold in the United Sates.

Today, Lambrusco wine - the Italian sparkling Coca Cola - has become itself a brand: an international ambassadord of the Made in Italy, recognized worldwide and still coveted on many foreign markets, first and foremost the American one.

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Sources

AboutMadeline PucketteJames Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly. “Lambrusco Wines Worth Drinking.” Wine Folly, September 10, 2019. https://winefolly.com/tips/lambrusco-wines-worth-drinking/. 

“Cato: De Agricultura.” LacusCurtius • Cato - De Agricultura. Accessed November 8, 2021. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cato/de_agricultura/home.html. 

Roberts, Sam. “Harry F. Mariani, Who Introduced Americans to Lambrusco, Dies at 78.” The New York Times. The New York Times, January 11, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/business/harry-f-mariani-champion-of-lambrusco-dies-at-78.html. 

Story of Lambrusco, the most sold Italian wine. Accessed November 8, 2021. https://shop.silvanoromaniparma.com/lambrusco-story. 

Author Dellannia Segreti and Giulia Crisanti