Grape Varieties

One name dominates the vineyards between Modena and Reggio Emilia, but it doesn't stand for a single grape. Lambrusco is an entire family, with at least six distinct varieties that differ markedly in color, acidity, and tannin. Order a "Lambrusco" without specifying which one, and you might get anything from delicate to full-bodied.

The palest and most fragrant is Lambrusco di Sorbara. It grows on sandy alluvial soil between the Secchia and Panaro rivers. Its color stays almost pink, and its violet aroma is so distinctive that tasters can identify it blind. At the other end stands Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, from the hills south of Modena. It shows deep, dark color and firm tannin, with black berry and plum in the glass. In between sits Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, named after its compact, sausage-shaped clusters — salamino means "little salami."

Rarely is any of them bottled as a single variety. Almost always a splash of Ancellotta is blended in, a grape with so much color pigment in its skin that ten to fifteen percent is enough to noticeably darken any Lambrusco. Without it, many wines would be paler than the market expects today.

Red isn't everything here, though. Sangiovese also grows in Romagna, southeast of Bologna, but there it was vinified as a single variety from the start rather than blended, unlike the long-standing practice in Tuscany. The result today is called Sangiovese di Romagna: more vinous, fresher, and ready to drink earlier than its Tuscan counterpart.

And then there's white. Albana yields both dry and richly sweet wines from the same grape. Unusual for a white variety is its noticeable tannin, that rough grip usually associated with red wine. Pignoletto, at home in the hills around Bologna, is lighter and more floral. Trebbiano Romagnolo, documented since the fourteenth century, delivers simple, fresh everyday wine. On the sandy coast near Comacchio, Fortana survives, also known as Uva d'Oro, an old variety used for thin, barely alcoholic red wines to pair with fish.