The DOC(G) sparkling wines of Italy's Emilia-Romagna region

Emilia-Romagna, the southern base of the regions that are grouped together as Northern Italy, is famous as the birthplace for quality foods such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Aceto Balsamic di Modena, Lasagna, Tortellini, and Tagliatelle. As a center of food and automobile production, and with the third-highest per-capita GDP in Italy, Emilia-Romagna is one of the wealthiest and most developed regions in Europe.

With 136,000 acres under vine, Emilia-Romagna is the second-largest wine-producing region in Italy after Veneto. The largest wine-producing areas in the region are found in the alluvial plains but the wines from the foothills are attracting attention.

Of the 21 official Emilia-Romagna appellations (2 DOCGs, 19 DOCs), 10 (one DOCG and nine DOCs) provide at least one label under which sparkling wine can be produced. In a number of cases -- Colli di Parma DOC and Colli Piacentini DOC, for example -- the availability of varietal-specific labels provides the producer with the potential to offer between four and six separate sparkling wines.

The biggest concentration of sparkling wine production occurs in the area between Reggio Emilio in the northwest and Bologna, with the Lambrusco zone around Modena serving as the beating heart of this geographic range.

In terms of production methods, 10 of the available labels are Charmat-only while two follow the Champenoise method. All of the other labels allow for the use of both methods based on the producer's preference.

There are no sparkling-wine-only DOCGs/DOCs in Emilia-Romagna and it is the only region that I have encountered to date that does not have a vintage-dated sparkling wine on the official books.

While most of the indigenous varieties are utilized in the production of sparkling wine, mainstay varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Nero, and Pinot Bianco are vigorously utilized.

Lambrusco is the sparkling wine for which Emilia-Romagna is best known and I will delve into its application in the region in the following.

Lambrusco
"The main Emilia wine is undoubtedly Lambrusco, the fizzy and sometimes sparkling, jovial red wine from grapes grown on high trellised vines in five DOC zones in Modena and Reggio Emilio." The map below shows the Lambrusco production area within Emilia-Romagna.

Lambrusco production area 

(Source:http://emilialambrusco.com/en/lambrusco/)

Lambrusco first came to prominence as "cheap, cheerful and fizzy plonk served with ice cubes ... cloyingly sweet versions that flooded U.S. shelves in the 1970s and '80s" (O'Keefe). In an article asking readers to take a second look at the wine, Karen O'Keefe sees that "a number of producers now make distinct, slightly sparkling Lambruscos that belong on every wine lover's radar."

As shown in the sparkling wines maps, there are three specific Lambrusco DOCs (Sorbara, Grasparossa di Castelvetro, and Salamino di Santa Croce) and two other DOCs (Modena and Reggiano) which also produce Lambrusco sparkling wines.

Lambrusco di Sorbara is generally lightly colored, fragrant, and in possession of vibrant acidity. The grapes are thin-skinned, with very little pigment, and the bunches have berries of varying sizes. Grapes for this wine excel in the sandy, fertile plains between the Secchia and Panarao rivers. O'Keefe sees this wine as the most-refined of the Lambrusco category.

Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro is made from a "thick-skinned, late-ripening, darkly hued" grape that is definitively more tannic than the Sorbara variety. This variety does well in clay and silt soils.

Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce is the most planted of the Lambrusco grapes and is often blended with other Lambrusco wines to take advantage of its color and and acidity. The soils in the growing area are similar to the soils in the Sorbara region but some grapes are also grown in the clay and rocky soils close to the Reggio Emilia foothills.

Novobolle
Sparkling wine production in the province of Romagna peaked at the beginning of the 20th Century and then declined somewhat. In order to recapture this past glory the Romagna Consorzio has introduced a new trademark of Romagna Spumante DOC that every producer in the region can utilize if specified conditions are followed. The name of the new wine is Novebolle (nine bubbles) with Nove (nine) referring both the the nine hills of Romagna as well as the period (1900s) in which sparkling wine had flourished in the region.

The wine can be white or Rosé and can be made by either the Charmat or Traditional method. The composition of both wines are included in the second of the two sparkling wine maps above.

The first expression this new trademark has been captured in Bolé, a joint venture between two of the region's Coops: Caviro (the largest winery in Italy) and Terre Cevico.

Source: drwine.it

This Bianco is a mix of Trebbiano and Famosa (5%) made using the classic method. Plans call for increasing production from today's 45,000 bottles to 100,000 bottles and the production of a Rosé that adheres to the Consorzio's restrictions.

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