Like high-waist pants, Lambrusco lends credence to the theory that if you wait long enough, everything will come back into fashion. In lambrusco’s case, the resurgence took about 40 years.

Maybe you’re old enough to remember the first big splash. Long before prosecco captured North American hearts, Lambrusco was the Italian fizz of choice. It had much to recommend it in the 1960s and 1970s. Namely, it was semi-sweet, gently sparkling and inexpensive. It also boasted a distinction that continues to make it an object of curiosity today: It was red, or at least most of it was.

Poured into a glass, red Lambrusco bubbles up with pink foam to resemble a fermenting vat of merlot or malbec grape must. Coincidentally much of that bellbottom-era Lambrusco came with a similarly simple, primary-fruit flavour. It was grape soda for grownups. A handful of brands dominated the market. In the United States, the behemoth was Riunite, which appealed to inveterate soda-pop drinkers with the famous slogan: “Riunite on ice, that’s nice.” In Canada, I can recall (though would prefer to forget) a few close and personal encounters with Chiarli Castelvetro.

It may be convenient to speak of Lambrusco as a single wine, but it’s an oddity in the sense that the vino – sometimes produced in white form by separating the juice from the colour-bearing skins – is usually based on a blend of various distinct grapes all referred to, confusingly, as lambrusco. There’s lambrusco barghi, for example, Lambrusco Marani, Lambrusco oliva and lambruschetto, along with dozens more. But you’ll find that today’s better renditions are often based on two of the more reputable grapes, Lambrusco di sorbara and lambrusco salamino, both signatures of the Modena province that also is home to Ferrari automobiles. That second one, the most common, refers cutely to what you might be thinking. Its grapes grow in small, virtually cylindrical bunches, which, to certain Italian ampelographers of the past, clearly evoked one of the world’s most perfect preserved foods, salami.

Even the current wave of better lambruscos, though mainly dry, can occasionally be slightly sweet. Consult your shopkeeper if in doubt. Good producers – available sporadically in Canadian stores – include Lini, Cavicchioli, Paltrinieri and Fiorini Corte degli Attimi.

Read more at source: Theglobeandmail