My relative Cleto Chiarli had an Osteria in Piazza della Pomposa in Modena. When the business began, Lambrusco was a very local wine, it was often produced by farmers and people would make their own versions at home. My cousins and I are the fifth generation. It’s still a 100% private business and has always belonged to the Chiarli family. How long has Chiarli been making Lambrusco for?Ĭhiari started in 1860 and it’s the oldest winery in Emilia Romagna, both in the Lambrusco and Sangiovese areas of Emilia Romagna.
They are the oldest producer of Lambrusco in Emilia Romagna and have wineries in both Modena and Castelvetro di Modena.
To find out more about the wine and how it is made, I spoke to Tommaso Chiarli who is the fifth generation of the Chiarli family making Lambrusco. It’s so prevalent in the region that last year there was even a case of Lambrusco accidentally coming out of taps (instead of water).įor me, a glass of Lambrusco brings with it a sweet nostalgia for days as in Italy for small plastic cups fizzing with cool, red deliciousness, reminding me of humid June evenings, when the air felt heavy and we didn’t leave the house until the sun had gone down. Field upon field of neatly arranged and carefully tended vineyards line the narrow country roads leading to the terracotta town. Travelling towards the red-roofed Castelvetro you can really get a sense of scale. Here visitors can taste different Lambrusco wines and learn more about its production, both in the old town and at nearby farms in the area. There’s even a festival of Lambrusco every September in the hilltop town of Castelvetro di Modena. Meanwhile, the drink remains hugely popular in Modena and the surrounding regions. However, higher quality (and less sweet) versions of the drink are gradually making their way into both London’s Italian shops and its supermarkets. Unfortunately, the cheap, mass-produced and relatively sweet Lambrusco drunk across Europe and America in the second half of the 1900s seems to have tarnished the wine’s reputation abroad. Its acidity and fizz contrast well with rich and crumbly chunks of Parmigiano, coupled with a Gnocco Fritto (a type of savoury fried bread which is typically eaten and piled high with Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano ).
Lambrusco makes for a very complementary addition to a plate of Prosciutto and Salumi. Meanwhile, British friends in their 20s had never even heard of the stuff, yet when I managed to track down a bottle, it appeared to be really very popular, both for its unusual flavour and ruby-red colour which went rather well with our pasta. Some of my older relatives dismissed it as a drink that “doesn’t travel well” whilst reminiscing on their student days in the 70s and 80s, drinking cheap and sickly-sweet versions of the sparkling wine at parties. Even the bottles are attractive, the mysteriously dark glass, the intricately designed labels, some come complete with gold font and are attractively embossed with metallic lettering.Īlthough very popular in Northern Italy, it doesn’t seem to be so well known in the UK. Lambrusco tastings, Lambrusco paired with pieces of Parmigiano cheese, even a festival dedicated to Lambrusco, the region has it all. This was made all the more so by the fact that it seemed to be absolutely everywhere in Modena and the surrounding towns. I have never been much of a white wine drinker and so the idea that a fizzy red wine existed was particularly exciting. I’d never really heard of Lambrusco before I arrived in Emilia Romagna, Prosecco and Sangiovese had made it to England (the former is hugely popular over here), but sparkling red wine not so.
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