New sparkling wines from Terraquilia

9/26/18 -

We are very excited to announce the arrival of three new natural wines from Terraquilia: two sparkling red Lambruschi and a delicious sparkling white. Terraquilia is a small estate located in the hills of Guigila, south of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northeast Italy, and sits at an elevation of 450 meters. Romano Mattioli is the owner and winemaker, and since the beginning he has been growing grapes organically and making wines naturally, using traditional methods, with minimal intervention in the cellar and very low levels of added sulfites. Romano's wines are not the cloyingly sweet, mass-produced, carbon dioxide-injected Lambruschi of the past. These are real wines that are dry, crisp, savory, satisfying, and speak of the place where they were made.

All of Terraquilia’s wines are made using the Methodo Ancestrale, which is one of the oldest ways of producing sparkling wine. The primary fermentation is stopped before it is completed by cooling the wine down while it is still in tank. The wine is then bottled, corked, and brought back to cellar temperature, and the fermentation continues without having to add any sugars or yeast. Because the bottle has been corked the carbon dioxide created by the fermenting yeast has nowhere to go but back into the wine, and, voila, a sparkling wine is created. Fermentation ends when the yeast cells deplete the natural supply of sugar, and the dead yeast cells (lees) that are left over create a sediment (called fondo in Italian). The sparkling white, Terraquilia 2016 Bianco dell'Emilia Col Fondo “Terrebianche”, as well as its sparkling red counterpart, Terraquilia 2016 Lambrusco dell'Emilia Col Fondo “Falcorubens” are both released with the wine left on its lees, or col fondo, which gives the wines a beautiful color, texture, opacity and complexity.  The estate also produces the Terraquilia 2016 Lambrusco dell'Emilia Falconero “Zero”. This wine is made using the Methodo Ancestrale as well, except in this case the sediment is removed from the bottle to produce a clear wine. After some months of aging on its lees to gain complexity, the wines are riddled and then disgorged, leaving them with “zero” sediment, like those you would find from Champagne.

Emilia-Romana is a region renowned not only for its wines, but also for its famous delicacies. These include specialties such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, Bolognese sauce, Prosciutto di Parma, Lasagna, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and stuffed ravioli. It just so happens that a dry lambrusco with bright acidity and lush tannins is the perfect match for these locally made treasures. Or maybe you are having pizza for lunch or dinner? I do not know of a more satisfying pairing than pizza with a rich and dry lambrusco such as these made by Terraquilia. Saluti! Anna DeBeer