Nicely done article by FloFabricant in today’s NYTimes on Lambrusco:
NYTimes:Lambrusco
I,like most others, blew off Lambrusco as a serious wine yrs ago, when the sweet/fizzy Riunite was in its hey-day. It still is not serious, though Flo argues it is “complicated”. Not sure I can agree w/ that…but, whatever.
But my revelation came so 10 yrs ago or so. I was eating at Oliveto/RockRidge and ordered the charcuterie plate. I asked their wine-guy what wine he recommended. He related that they had a Lambrusco I should try. It was OliverMcCrum’s Barbolini:
Barbolini
I gave him this cock-eyed look of incredulity. He pressed his case, so…what the heck!!
Holy cow…this is a great match. So much so that I had two more glasses.
Anyway, the article is nicely done. I may go out and buy a Riunite tonight. I’ll report back.
Tom
Be sure to test it for ethylene glycol, first, Tom. That would be a nasty way to go.
I remember the revelation for me of real Lambrusco, tasting it in Modena 20 years ago. Happily, the real stuff has had some play around here in NYC in recent years, and I’m sure Oliver and others have been educating folks on the Left Coast.
Yes, one of the great examples of why food/wine matching can matter. With genuine (not sugar syrup) Lambrusco and fatty regional cured meats, two products that might appear rustic, bring out the class in each other.
A slight bit of Lambrusco thread drift: Does anyone know the name of the Lambrusco that North Berkeley Imports carried up to about a year ago? Apparently they import a different one now, The old one was fizzy with funky/earthy/savory notes and quite good with BBQ. I’d recommend it if I knew the name!