Vecchia Modena Cleto Chiarli e Figli

On our recent visit with Steve Clifton of Palmina Wines, we tasted his sparkling Barbera which Steve mentioned is his nod to the sparkling Lambruscos of Italy. After tasting Steve's sparking Barbera and coming home to the East Coast, my husband was on a quest to find Lambrusco. Lambrusco is a light wine made in the frizzante style and it is meant to be drunk young. My husband found this Vecchia Modena Cleto Chiarli e Figli to try and we drank it with our friend, pairing it with an assortment of lavash "pizzas". It was rosé in color, had a good amount of bubbles which foamed, apparently a hallmark of Lambrusco, and was very dry. Interestingly, this red wine should be served chilled.
In June 2012, Katherine Cole interviewed Anselmo and Beatrice Pellini Chiarli. Cleto Chiarli established the winery in the 1860 and Anselmo is the 4th generation to be in the business. Anselmo explained that Lambrusco is one of the oldest Italian wines and is made from various indigenous grapes, grown in the area for thousands of years.
In 2010, Lettie Teague wrote about Riunite Was Nice, but There's More to Lambrusco in the Wall Street Journal. Lambrusco has actually been around since the time of the Romans and found traction in the United States when Italy exported Riunite and the slogan "Riunite on Ice, that's Nice", became famous. Lettie Teague wrote about a Lambrusco tasting she conducted with her friend, Mike Avella from Modena. He liked the Lini 910 Metodo Classico Rosso. Mike opined that Lambrusco should not be complex, it should be lively with a wonderful floral bouquet, have great foam and dance on your palate. And, costing between $16-18, will see a lot of quaffation from us this summer.