Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

To discuss Emilia-Romagna, like most anywhere else in Italy, without mentioning food would be only telling half the story. Emilia-Romagna is one of Italy’s agricultural powerhouses, but it’s also the home to some of the country’s most distinctive products: Parmigiano Reggiano, Aceto Balsamico, Prosciutto di Parma… And although agriculture in the fertile Po River Valley is inextricable from the local identity, it also has a vibrant mechanical and manufacturing industry, making it one of the wealthiest and most stable of Italy’s regions.

Emilia-Romagna is also famous, some would say notorious, for its leading wine product, Lambrusco. Perhaps burdened with an unwanted reputation from years of semi-industrial production, Lambrusco is undergoing a somewhat quiet revolution, with producers exploring the range of sub-varieties and veering from the sickly sweet path of the commercial giants....READ MORE

Emilia-Romagna

To discuss Emilia-Romagna, like most anywhere else in Italy, without mentioning food would be only telling half the story. Emilia-Romagna is one of Italy’s agricultural powerhouses, but it’s also the home to some of the country’s most distinctive products: Parmigiano Reggiano, Aceto Balsamico, Prosciutto di Parma… And although agriculture in the fertile Po River Valley is inextricable from the local identity, it also has a vibrant mechanical and manufacturing industry, making it one of the wealthiest and most stable of Italy’s regions.

Emilia-Romagna is also famous, some would say notorious, for its leading wine product, Lambrusco. Perhaps burdened with an unwanted reputation from years of semi-industrial production, Lambrusco is undergoing a somewhat quiet revolution, with producers exploring the range of sub-varieties and veering from the sickly sweet path of the commercial giants. Although this makeover is still very much a work in progress, and the wines are hard to find outside of Italy, the promise is encouraging.

The Colli Piacentini which borders Lombardy’s Oltrepò Pavese benefits from the modest elevations of the Apennine foothills and produces wines both still and sparkling, both red and white, from a range of grapes. It is perhaps here that Emilia-Romagna’s finest wines are made, and where boundaries may be pushed to elevate the region’s relatively modest vinous reputation.

Given the preponderance of the grape and Emilia-Romagna’s proximity to Tuscany, it is not surprising that Sangiovese makes an appearance, and indeed the best expressions are very fine, with distinctly individual character. Perhaps influenced by a local variant of the grape and by the climate, the wines tend to be more fruit-forward and less nervous than the classic expressions from Chianti.

Principal denominations: Colli Bolognesi DOC, Colli Bolognesi Pignoletto DOC, Colli Piacentini DOC, Gutturnio DOC, Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC, Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC, Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce DOC, Romagna Albana DOCG
Important white varieties: Albana, Bombino Bianco, Grechetto, Malvasia, Trebbiano
Important red varieties: Barbera, Bonarda, Croatina, Lambrusco, Sangiovese

 

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