What does lambrusco taste like?
Lambrusco tastes like fizzy red berries and sour cherry, light and juicy with a gentle grip, and depending on the bottle it can be bone dry or soda-pop sweet.
Lambrusco
fizzy red, berries and cherry
Lambrusco is a sparkling red from Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, the same part of the country that makes Parmigiano and prosciutto di Parma, and it's built to go with them. It's purple, frothy and full of fresh berry and cherry, with a little bite of tannin (the drying grip you get from red wine) that a cold, fizzy wine doesn't usually have. Secco on the label means dry, and amabile or dolce means sweet. Cheap sweet bottles gave it a bad name in the US, but good dry lambrusco is a lot of fun, served chilled at around 11%.
Where you’ll see it
On Italian wine lists, often by the glass, and especially next to salumi boards, pizza and anything with cured meat or Parmigiano. Some places pour it as a chilled red for summer.
Order it if you want a red that's light, cold and fizzy, especially with a meat and cheese board.
Quick questions
- Is lambrusco sweet?
- It can be. Look for secco on the label for dry, or amabile and dolce for sweet. Most restaurant lists lean toward the dry styles.
- Do you chill lambrusco?
- Yes. Serve it cold like a white or rosé. The chill keeps the fruit fresh and the bubbles lively.