What is Lambrusco? Discover it all over again with Venturini Baldini

If you are relatively new to the world of wine, you might hear yourself asking, “What is Lambrusco?” - or if you’re not new to the world of wine, you might be wondering why I’m writing about it. In the UK, we haven’t had the best examples of Lambrusco available to us and often dismiss it as something sugary and cheap. But I’m discovering Lambrusco again with Julia Prestia from Venturini Baldini… and I like what I’ve found.

Red sparkling wine is always a hot topic. Everyone has something to say about it. When I worked in a specialist sparkling wine bar, some of those things were: “Sacrilege!”; “Gorgeous!”; “Not for me!” and, the most common, “Different!”. 

Different can be a compliment (sometimes it’s definitely not one) but “different” is what it is. It’s not red wine as you know it. It’s served chilled and it’s designed to refresh you. It’s not your typical white sparkling, either. The flavours might be deeper, there could be some tannin and sometimes it’s more viscous and weighty. 

Sparkling red wine is something of its own. It might be a new idea to you, but do you know who has been doing this for aeons? The Italians! Ever heard of Lambrusco? Wait, wait, don’t go!

Lambrusco was never meant to be the sugary, low-quality wine that we see getting warm under the lights of a corner shop. It was always meant to be dry and crisp, made from low-yield grapes. Venturini Baldini have been making this premium style of Lambrusco since the 1970s. High in the hills of Emilia, their grape yields are a quarter of those from vineyards in the flat lands below and they use organic and minimal intervention techniques to produce low sulphite, low antihistamine, authentic Emilian wines.

Back to what Lambrusco should be

For the Prestia family, their Lambrusco story started six years ago when they took over the Venturini Baldini estate in 2015. The husband and wife team, Julia and Giuseppe, were exploring the Emilia basin, when they hit the start of the Apennines. “It looked like Tuscany,” Julia tells me, eyes bright with enthusiasm. It was immediately a place they fell in love with.

Most people who choose a vineyard to purchase will tell you it was about the connection they felt to the place, more than anything else. It was this way with Julia and Giuseppe, especially as they were acquiring it from another husband and wife team. “I can see what they planted when I’m gardening,” says Julia.

Julia and Giuseppe Prestia

Most of all, there was a deep respect for the founders of Venturini Baldini. “They were visionaries,” remarks Julia. “They started in the 1970s as an organic winery. We wanted to continue this.”

Organic is an ingrained way of life for the Prestia family: “The longer we’ve been in this business, the clearer it gets in terms of what is important to you.”

This is certainly a challenge when it comes to producing wine. Julia and Giuseppe constantly question: “How do you run a winery and manage minimal impact?” But they see it as an absolute necessity and they believe organic production is intrinsic to their wines and how they taste.

“Our wines are not a reinvention,” smiles Julia. “We are going back to the roots, back to what Lambrusco should be.”

Venturini Baldini Rubino del Cerro

The Rubino del Cerro is Venturini Baldini’s most important wine and it represents innovative, premium Lambrusco. The yellow label is the estate’s longest standing label and is iconic in itself, as the wine was revolutionary at the time of its first production. 

The Rubino del Cerro is an elegant spumante with a fine, delicate mousse. The fresh acidity and ripe berry fruits have been preserved cleanly in the Charmat process and the six months in tank, plus 18 months in the bottle, has added complexity and texture to the wine. The mouthfeel is refreshing, not brash, and there is a lovely mellowness to the mid-palate, finishing with a swirl of baking spices.

Julia tells me that this wine works well commercially because it is so versatile – you can drink it as an aperitif or throughout the meal. “It’s an approachable, happy sort of wine.”

More than Lambrusco

“There is an Emilia that people don’t know, there’s Lambrusco and then there’s more than that,” says Julia. 

Venturini Baldini is one of the very few Lambrusco wineries to make still wines too, plus a couple of sparkling rosés and a range of Traditional Method wines. Their winemaker has been at the estate for over 20 years, who Julia describes as “untraditional, unusual and talented”.

“It’s important to explore and experiment,” says Julia, as we taste our way through the Caldelvento Rosé and the T.E.R.S. Malbo Gentile. Perhaps there’s something in the water, but I’m sure that’s an attitude that would have made the pioneering founders of Venturini Baldini very proud.

Discover Lambrusco again at https://venturinibaldini.it/en/