Francesco Vezzelli established his small, artisan Lambrusco winery in 1958. Today, his son Roberto carries on the tradition, farming nearly 40 acres of vines, and dedicated to preserving the unique character of small production Lambrusco.
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro from Roberto’s single vineyard, “Rive Dei Ciliege,” is a rarity in the region, farmed naturally, hand-harvested, and hand-made. It’s not unusual for Roberto to extend his harvest through many pickings to assure that only the ripest grapes are picked. Unique in the Lambrusco family of grapes, “Grasparossa di Castelvetro” provides modest yields and concentrated flavors of red fruit and spice.
A spumante, or sparkling wine, its effervescence amplifies the wine’s concentrated, black cherry aromatics. It’s a wonderful aromatic companion to salami, pizza, pumpkin tortellini, and lasagna.
Regional History
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro is both the name of the place where the wine is grown and the name of the grape variety itself. The area is just outside of Modena in Emiglia-Romagna, the agricultural heartland of Italy.
From the Villanovans (1100 BC), through the Etruscans and Gauls who followed, the region has been settled, cultivated, and fought over for its agricultural riches and the attendant wealth and power it brought. The nearby city of Modena was ruled by the Etes clan for nearly 600 years – their extraordinary wealth and power, particularly during the Renaissance, giving rise to great banquets, and ultimately to the region being noted for Italy’s finest cuisines.
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro is one of approximately 60 different “clones” of Lambrusco – an ancient grape that may lay claim to being one of very few to have its roots in Europe proper. The wild vine from which the existing varieties originated was known as Labrusca to Pliny the Elder, and the grape was cultivated for its extreme productivity, which matched the agricultural productivity of the region as a whole.
Regional Foods:
Emiglia-Romagna provides the widest variety of foods in Italy. The foods tend toward savory (and rich): creamy pork sausages (zampone, served with lentils), cheeses (the most famous, the Parmegiano Regianno) hams (Prosciutto di Parma), vegetables of enormous variety, and endless varieties of pasta – tortellini stuffed with pumpkin and cheese, Lasagne Verdi al Forno (green lasagna with meat and bechamel) come to mind. Pork and game birds provide most of the meat-based dishes, but cattle is farmed for veal as well.
© 2009 Moore Brothers Wine Company