Emilia-Romagna

Lambrusco di Sorbara: pale, floral, bone-dry and tart - the elegant Lambrusco.

From around Bomporto near Modena. Pale red or pink, with aromas of orange blossom, cherry and violet, and mouth-watering acidity. The best are dry and ideal with cured meats and cheese.

From around Bomporto near Modena. Pale red or pink, with aromas of orange blossom, cherry and violet, and mouth-watering acidity. The best are dry and ideal with cured meats and cheese.

Lambrusco di Sorbara: the palest, most floral and tart of the Lambruscos.

Pale ruby to pink, with orange blossom, mandarin, cherry and violet. Very high acidity makes it the most refreshing and the most food-flexible.

Pale ruby to pink, with orange blossom, mandarin, cherry and violet. Very high acidity makes it the most refreshing and the most food-flexible.

Prosciutto di Parma, culatello and mortadella with dry Lambrusco and gnocco fritto.

The classic combination: salty cured meats and fried dough against a cold, dry, tart fizzy red. Sorbara is the most elegant partner.

The classic combination: salty cured meats and fried dough against a cold, dry, tart fizzy red. Sorbara is the most elegant partner.

Romagna Sangiovese: juicy, earthy Sangiovese, easier and cheaper than Tuscany.

The same grape as Chianti but from a later-ripening hill zone. Sour cherry, herbs and a rustic edge, with less oak. Superiore, Riserva and village sub-zone wines offer more depth.

The same grape as Chianti but from a later-ripening hill zone. Sour cherry, herbs and a rustic edge, with less oak. Superiore, Riserva and village sub-zone wines offer more depth.

Gift: an Albana passito, such as Zerbina Scacco Matto.

A sweet wine that stays fresh for years, easy to carry and rarely seen abroad. Good with aged Parmigiano or dessert.

A sweet wine that stays fresh for years, easy to carry and rarely seen abroad. Good with aged Parmigiano or dessert.

Pignoletto: Bologna's soft, floral white fizz, drier than Prosecco.

Made from Grechetto Gentile in the hills around Bologna. Mostly lightly fizzy and tank-made, with jasmine, peach and green apple; softer bubbles than Prosecco. A few growers make still or bottle-fermented versions.

Made from Grechetto Gentile in the hills around Bologna. Mostly lightly fizzy and tank-made, with jasmine, peach and green apple; softer bubbles than Prosecco. A few growers make still or bottle-fermented versions.

Lambrusco Reggiano and Salamino di Santa Croce: dark, fruity, easy with food.

From Reggio Emilia and the Carpi area. Salamino gives deep colour and cherry-violet fruit with moderate tannin; Reggiano can range from rustic to excellent depending on the producer.

From Reggio Emilia and the Carpi area. Salamino gives deep colour and cherry-violet fruit with moderate tannin; Reggiano can range from rustic to excellent depending on the producer.

A late, continental ripening season keeps Romagna Sangiovese fresh and savoury.

Romagna is continental, so Sangiovese ripens later than in Tuscany with strong flavour and good acidity. Producers use less oak than their Tuscan neighbours, and the wines read as juicy, earthy and food-friendly.

Romagna is continental, so Sangiovese ripens later than in Tuscany with strong flavour and good acidity. Producers use less oak than their Tuscan neighbours, and the wines read as juicy, earthy and food-friendly.

Cavicchioli: big, reliable Sorbara; Vigna del Cristo is the dry one to find.

A large Modena-area producer with an easy-to-find dry Sorbara. Vigna del Cristo is tank-fermented and salmon-pink; the Cristo Rosé Brut is a fizzier take.

A large Modena-area producer with an easy-to-find dry Sorbara. Vigna del Cristo is tank-fermented and salmon-pink; the Cristo Rosé Brut is a fizzier take.

Bottle-fermented and Metodo Classico Lambrusco: the dry, serious end of the style.

A growing group of producers make Lambrusco by the ancestral or Champagne method, giving drier, finer, more savoury wines, mostly from Sorbara and Salamino. They work as aperitifs and with cured meats.

A growing group of producers make Lambrusco by the ancestral or Champagne method, giving drier, finer, more savoury wines, mostly from Sorbara and Salamino. They work as aperitifs and with cured meats.

Top red: a Riserva or village-name Romagna Sangiovese.

Zerbina's Pietramora Riserva or Villa Papiano's Probi are the two to look for; both age well and show what Romagna can do.

Zerbina's Pietramora Riserva or Villa Papiano's Probi are the two to look for; both age well and show what Romagna can do.

Sandstone, marl and fossil limestone shape each Romagna village's style.

Modigliana's sandstone and altitude give elegance and freshness; Bertinoro's limestone-clay (spungone) gives elegant tannins and a salty finish; Serra's iron-rich soil gives rounder, fruitier wine.

Modigliana's sandstone and altitude give elegance and freshness; Bertinoro's limestone-clay (spungone) gives elegant tannins and a salty finish; Serra's iron-rich soil gives rounder, fruitier wine.

'Rifermentazione in bottiglia' or 'col fondo' means cloudy, bottle-fermented Lambrusco.

Most Lambrusco is fizzy from a second fermentation in a tank. The older farmhouse way finishes fermentation in the bottle, leaving a cloudy, savoury, bone-dry wine with fine bubbles. It is a deliberate style, not a fault.

Most Lambrusco is fizzy from a second fermentation in a tank. The older farmhouse way finishes fermentation in the bottle, leaving a cloudy, savoury, bone-dry wine with fine bubbles. It is a deliberate style, not a fault.

Bottle-fermented ('col fondo') wines are cloudy, drier and more savoury.

The second fermentation finishes inside the bottle and the sediment stays. This was the older, farmhouse way, and it is back for Sorbara and Pignoletto.

The second fermentation finishes inside the bottle and the sediment stays. This was the older, farmhouse way, and it is back for Sorbara and Pignoletto.

Off the beaten path: a cloudy bottle-fermented Pignoletto or natural Salamino.

Orsi Vigneto San Vito's Sui Lieviti is a good pét-nat-style Pignoletto; Luciano Saetti's Rossoviola is a natural-style Salamino. Both are small-batch and hard to find abroad.

Orsi Vigneto San Vito's Sui Lieviti is a good pét-nat-style Pignoletto; Luciano Saetti's Rossoviola is a natural-style Salamino. Both are small-batch and hard to find abroad.

Paltrinieri: Sorbara village specialist; Radice is the bone-dry benchmark.

A small family estate in the home village of Lambrusco di Sorbara. Radice is its dry, bottle-fermented signature; L'Eclisse and La Riversa show other sides.

Paltrinieri works from the village of Sorbara, in the Bomporto area north of Modena, where the Sorbara grape takes its name, and celebrates its centenary in 2026. Radice is the wine to know: a Lambrusco di Sorbara made by the ancestral method, with the second fermentation finishing in the bottle, bone-dry, pale and tart with a savoury edge. Beside it sit L'Eclisse, La Riversa and the weightier Grosso, plus a white-vinified Bianco, so you can taste the range in one sitting. It is one of the region's best-value quality names, and Radice is the bottle to open with prosciutto, Parmigiano and gnocco fritto. Because it is refermented in the bottle it can look cloudy; that is the style, not a flaw.

Medici Ermete: Reggio Emilia estate with organic Concerto and bottle-fermented Phermento.

A Reggio Emilia estate with about 130 years behind it. Concerto (Reggiano, organic Salamino) is the easy buy; Phermento (dry Sorbara, bottle-fermented) and Unique (Metodo Classico) are the step-ups.

Medici Ermete has made wine in Reggio Emilia for around 130 years, at Gaida just outside the city, from largely organic vineyards. Concerto is the one most people meet first: a Lambrusco Reggiano, organic since the 2020 harvest, built on Salamino,, which Decanter rated highly. The range then climbs in interest. Phermento is a dry Lambrusco di Sorbara refermented in the bottle, leaner and more savoury. Unique is a Reggiano Spumante made by the Metodo Classico, a Lambrusco treated like Champagne. Quercioli Reggiano Dry is the simple, dry everyday bottle. The family also makes Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia, which is why a tasting here can end on a few drops over Parmigiano.

Fattoria Zerbina: Marzeno estate near Faenza; Pietramora is the Sangiovese Riserva.

A benchmark Romagna estate that does both Sangiovese and Albana well. Pietramora Riserva is the red; Bianco di Ceparano is the easy white; Scacco Matto the sweet passito.

Fattoria Zerbina sits in the Marzeno hills near Faenza. Vincenzo Geminiani bought the estate and planted the first vineyards in 1966, and winemaking today is credited to Cristina Geminiani, who blends traditional practice with a readiness to experiment. It is the Romagna producer that shows both of the region's grapes well. Pietramora is the Sangiovese Riserva, the estate's flagship red from the Marzeno sub-zone. On the white side, Bianco di Ceparano is an easy, floral dry Albana, while Scacco Matto, the passito, is the honeyed dessert wine named among the best Albana passitos. If you want one estate to visit that explains Romagna, it is this one. Expect rounder, riper reds than from the higher Modigliana villages.

A sottozona name (Predappio, Modigliana, Bertinoro) marks Romagna Sangiovese's top tier.

The best Sangiovese di Romagna names a village sub-zone on the label. Predappio, Modigliana, Bertinoro, Brisighella and Marzeno are the ones to know, and each has a recognisable personality.

Romagna's zoning is still a work in progress: some sub-zones have little or no wine bottled under their name, and more are being added. For a traveler the five names that matter are Predappio, Modigliana, Bertinoro, Brisighella and Marzeno. Modigliana, high in the Apennines on sandstone and marl, gives fine, fresh, long-lived wines. Bertinoro, on fossil-rich limestone-clay, gives elegant tannins and a salty edge. Predappio is among the best-known names. Marzeno (around Faenza) tends rounder and riper. Serra, near Imola, gives generous, fruit-driven wine. If a producer prints a sub-zone, that is almost always their serious bottling, so taste it beside the plain Superiore from the same house to see what the village adds.

Villa Papiano: organic Modigliana Sangiovese with long macerations and big casks.

Francesco Bordini farms steep terraces near Modigliana organically. Probi is the Riserva; Papesse is the young, fresh one.

Villa Papiano is a 15th-century villa on Mount Chioda, near Modigliana, in the Apennine foothills close to the Tuscan border. Francesco Bordini bought it in 2001. The estate is certified organic and farms steep terraces on sandstone and marl, and the wines are vinified with native yeasts, long skin contact and very little sulphur. Fermentation and ageing are in concrete and large barrels, with small barrels used for Sangiovese since 2009. The focus is on freshness and acidity rather than weight. Papesse is the young Sangiovese kept on its lees, a good first bottle. Probi is the Riserva, built to age. The estate also grows local grapes such as Centesimino and Albana, the latter given extended skin contact. Modigliana is the high, cool end of Romagna, and this is its poster estate.

Metodo Classico Lambrusco ages on its lees like Champagne for finesse.

A still Lambrusco gets a second fermentation in bottle, then long contact with the dead yeast. The result is finer bubbles and a more bready, complex dry sparkler.

A handful of Emilian estates treat Lambrusco like a Champagne base. Cantina della Volta's Trentasei and Lini 910's Metodo Classico Rosso both begin with a still red wine, then go through a second fermentation in bottle and spend long periods on the lees before disgorging. Medici Ermete's Unique and Cantina Ventiventi's Metodo Classico Salamino follow the same logic. The effect is a dry wine with finer, creamier bubbles and a bready, savoury edge, in which the grape's tartness acts like the acidity in a Blanc de Noirs. Sorbara, with its pale colour and high acidity, takes to the method best; Salamino gives the darker, fruitier alternative. These wines cost more and are made in smaller quantities, and they are where Lambrusco overlaps with the region's most serious sparkling work.

Cantina della Volta: Christian Bellei's Metodo Classico and col fondo Sorbara.

A Modena estate run by a family that made col fondo Lambrusco from 1920 and moved to Champagne-style bottling in the 1970s. Rimosso is the cloudy dry one; Trentasei is the long-aged fizz.

Cantina della Volta was founded in 2010 by Christian Bellei, whose family had made col fondo Lambrusco from 1920 and whose father, Giuseppe, brought Champagne-style bottling to Lambrusco in the 1970s. It is based in the Sorbara zone north of Modena and treats the grape like a fine sparkling base. Half of its Metodo Classico range is Lambrusco di Sorbara: Rimosso is the slightly fizzy, dry col fondo wine; Brutrosso is a Brut; Trentasei is the Metodo Classico, left on its lees for a long time before disgorging. Bellei compares Sorbara's lightness and tension to Chardonnay. The wines are made in small quantities and are not widely exported, so they are worth buying at the winery or in a good Modena enoteca. For a celebration without Champagne, this is the local answer.

Lini 910: Correggio family estate; Metodo Classico Rosso is pure Salamino.

A fourth-generation family estate founded in 1910 in Correggio. Its Metodo Classico Rosso is a sparkling red made from Salamino alone.

Lini has been in Correggio, in the Reggio Emilia province, since 1910, and Fabio Lini represents the fourth generation. The wine that made its name abroad is the Metodo Classico Rosso: a still Lambrusco made first, then given a second fermentation in the bottle and aged on its lees, in the Champagne way, from Salamino alone. The first vintage was 1995, and production is small. The result is a dry, high-acid sparkling red that sits well above the casual image Lambrusco has had in some markets. For travelers, it is a good example of how far the traditional-method idea has gone in Reggio Emilia and a strong gift bottle for someone who thinks Lambrusco is only a sweet drink.

Tre Monti: Imola-area family estate; Vitalba is a concentrated dry Albana.

The Navacchia family farms near Imola and Forlì. Vitalba is its benchmark dry Albana; the Sangiovese Classe 33 shows the Serra style.

Tre Monti is a family estate run by Sergio Navacchia and his sons David and Vittorio. It farms two sites: a cool valley near Imola on the border between Emilia and Romagna, and a hill ridge near Forlì above the lower part of Ravenna. The family has experimented with natural winemaking techniques since the early 2000s and aims to use little chemistry. Albana is its calling card. Vitalba, the dry Albana, shows apricot, quince and citron with high acidity and a long finish, and Gambero Rosso counts it among the best dry Albanas. Classe 33 is the Sangiovese from the Serra sub-zone, dark-cherried and smooth. A house to visit if you want to see how adaptable Albana is: dry, structured, even sweet.

Tart tannin and bright acidity make Lambrusco refreshing, not heavy.

Lambrusco's acidity and slight grip are what let it cut through ham, cheese and fried food. Dry Lambrusco tastes of strawberry, raspberry and bramble with fine bubbles.

Lambrusco's acidity and slight grip are what let it cut through ham, cheese and fried food. Dry Lambrusco tastes of strawberry, raspberry and bramble with fine bubbles.

In the glass: Fresh, savoury red fruit that cleans the palate after fat

A late, continental ripening season keeps Romagna Sangiovese fresh and savoury.

Romagna is continental, so Sangiovese ripens later than in Tuscany with strong flavour and good acidity. Producers use less oak than their Tuscan neighbours, and the wines read as juicy, earthy and food-friendly.

Romagna is continental, so Sangiovese ripens later than in Tuscany with strong flavour and good acidity. Producers use less oak than their Tuscan neighbours, and the wines read as juicy, earthy and food-friendly.

In the glass: Sour-cherry fruit, bright acidity, firm but approachable tannin

Sandstone, marl and fossil limestone shape each Romagna village's style.

Modigliana's sandstone and altitude give elegance and freshness; Bertinoro's limestone-clay (spungone) gives elegant tannins and a salty finish; Serra's iron-rich soil gives rounder, fruitier wine.

Modigliana's sandstone and altitude give elegance and freshness; Bertinoro's limestone-clay (spungone) gives elegant tannins and a salty finish; Serra's iron-rich soil gives rounder, fruitier wine.

In the glass: Elegant and long in the hills; rounder and riper lower down

Most Lambrusco is fermented fizzy in a tank to keep it fresh and fruity.

A second fermentation in a sealed tank preserves the grape's primary fruit and gives a light, creamy mousse. It is the standard method for Lambrusco and Pignoletto.

A second fermentation in a sealed tank preserves the grape's primary fruit and gives a light, creamy mousse. It is the standard method for Lambrusco and Pignoletto.

In the glass: Fresh fruit, light bubbles, easy to drink

Bottle-fermented ('col fondo') wines are cloudy, drier and more savoury.

The second fermentation finishes inside the bottle and the sediment stays. This was the older, farmhouse way, and it is back for Sorbara and Pignoletto.

The second fermentation finishes inside the bottle and the sediment stays. This was the older, farmhouse way, and it is back for Sorbara and Pignoletto.

In the glass: Dry, yeasty, rustic texture, fine bubbles

Metodo Classico Lambrusco ages on its lees like Champagne for finesse.

A still Lambrusco gets a second fermentation in bottle, then long contact with the dead yeast. The result is finer bubbles and a more bready, complex dry sparkler.

A handful of Emilian estates treat Lambrusco like a Champagne base. Cantina della Volta's Trentasei and Lini 910's Metodo Classico Rosso both begin with a still red wine, then go through a second fermentation in bottle and spend long periods on the lees before disgorging. Medici Ermete's Unique and Cantina Ventiventi's Metodo Classico Salamino follow the same logic. The effect is a dry wine with finer, creamier bubbles and a bready, savoury edge, in which the grape's tartness acts like the acidity in a Blanc de Noirs. Sorbara, with its pale colour and high acidity, takes to the method best; Salamino gives the darker, fruitier alternative. These wines cost more and are made in smaller quantities, and they are where Lambrusco overlaps with the region's most serious sparkling work.

In the glass: Finer bubbles, bread and nuts, drier and more complex

Romagna producers now favour concrete and big casks over small new oak.

Some estates once chased Tuscany with small new oak. Many now use concrete tanks and large vats, so the cherry fruit and earthy character show through.

Some estates once chased Tuscany with small new oak. Many now use concrete tanks and large vats, so the cherry fruit and earthy character show through.

In the glass: Fresher, more transparent Sangiovese

Albana can be fresh and dry, skin-macerated and tannic, or dried and sweet.

Growers treat Albana as a flexible grape. Short skin contact gives texture and grip; long contact gives an orange-wine style; drying the grapes gives passito.

Growers treat Albana as a flexible grape. Short skin contact gives texture and grip; long contact gives an orange-wine style; drying the grapes gives passito.

In the glass: From floral and fresh to grippy and honeyed