Grape Guide
Lambrusco Maestri
RedLambrusco Maestri is a black-berried Emilian variety, thought to come from a village near Parma and now grown mainly in the province of Reggio Emilia. It gives deeply coloured, tannic, strawberry-toned sparkling reds that are firmer and more rustic than the finer Lambruscos of Sorbara or Salamino.
Key characteristics
- Black-skinned variety of Emilia-Romagna, distinct from the other Lambrusco varieties
- Vigorous and high-yielding, so crop control matters for concentration
- Probably originated in a small settlement within San Pancrazio, now a district of the city of Parma
- DNA work points to a possible parent-offspring link with Fortana
- About 1,460 ha were recorded in Italy by the 2000 agricultural census
Typical flavors
Major regions
Reggio Emilia (Emilia-Romagna) · Parma (Colli di Parma DOC) · Modena · Mantua (Lambrusco Mantovano DOC) · Puglia (Orta Nova DOC, identity uncertain) · Mendoza and San Juan (Argentina)
Also known as
Grappello Maestri · Lambrusco di Spagna · Maestri Grappello
Lambrusco Maestri is one of several distinct grape varieties sold under the Lambrusco name, and it is the one most associated with a darker, more tannic and more rustic style. Its wines are typically deep ruby with purple edges, with a bright, fizzy sweetness of wild strawberry and red cherry set against grippy tannin and fresh acidity. Fully dry versions are common, which suits the variety's structure better than the soft, off-dry styles that dominate export markets.
In volume it ranks with the better-known Lambrusco di Sorbara, yet it has a far lower profile, largely because it is more often a blending component than a named bottling. It is grown across the Po Valley plain and the first foothills of Emilia, and can be bottled alone or blended with Salamino, Marani, Grasparossa or Ancellotta, which add colour, perfume or acidity depending on the partner.
The earliest written mentions of Lambrusco Maestri date from roughly 1890 to 1900. Its probable birthplace is Villa Maestri, a hamlet within San Pancrazio, now a district of the city of Parma. The synonym Grappello Maestri points to the same local origin, whereas Lambrusco di Spagna is an older alternative name with an unclear basis.
Microsatellite analysis of grapes from the Reggio Emilia area hinted at a possible parent-offspring link between Lambrusco Maestri and Fortana, a variety associated with the Po delta near Ferrara. This is a suggestion and not a confirmed pedigree, and the other parent remains unidentified. It agrees with the broader picture of the Lambrusco group: the various Lambruscos are distinct varieties that happen to share a name, a region and a winemaking tradition, not a common ancestry.
From its base in Parma the variety moved east into Reggio Emilia, where it came to be widely planted on the plain around Montecchio, Boretto and Gualtieri. It was carried to Argentina, where plantings were recorded in the late 2000s. It is reported in Puglia too, but nobody knows for certain whether the grape grown there is the same variety.
Lambrusco Maestri is vigorous and high-yielding, traits that make it easy to grow on the fertile alluvial plain of the Po Valley but difficult to turn into concentrated wine. Growers who want depth of colour and tannin need to restrain the vine's vigour and thin the crop, while those making simple, fizzy wines for volume can crop more generously. In the 2000 agricultural census the variety occupied about 1,460 ha across Italy, almost the same area as Lambrusco di Sorbara, and current regional statistics for Reggio Emilia still show it as a secondary Lambrusco, well behind Ancellotta in plantings and below ten per cent of the provincial vineyard.
Most Lambrusco Maestri is made as a frizzante or fully sparkling red, typically by the tank method, with the carbonation retained from a secondary fermentation in pressurised tank. The wines are deeper in colour than Sorbara or Salamino, with a violet-tinged ruby hue, and show red and black berry fruit, particularly strawberry, with a firm tannic grip. Dry (secco) and off-dry (amabile) versions exist, and the tannin is a good match for the fatty salumi, tortellini and parmesan of the region.
A single-variety bottling is permitted in some denominations, and some producers make a 100 per cent Maestri wine. Elsewhere the variety is a blending partner, adding colour and body to lighter, more aromatic Lambruscos in several types of Reggiano DOC wine.
Where it grows
Reggio Emilia
The heartland of the variety, planted chiefly in the western part of the province, around Gualtieri, Boretto and Montecchio. It is permitted in several types of Reggiano DOC, usually in blends.
Parma
The probable birthplace, although plantings here are limited. It can be bottled as a varietal wine under the Colli di Parma DOC, whose Lambrusco type requires at least 85 per cent Lambrusco Maestri, with a minimum total alcohol of 11.0 per cent, and permits still or frizzante versions.
Modena and Mantua
Planted to a lesser extent in Modena. In Lombardy, across the Po, Lambrusco Mantovano DOC allows it as one component in its blends.
Puglia
Reported to be grown in the south and authorised as a blending grape for Orta Nova DOC, but it is uncertain whether the vines there are truly Lambrusco Maestri.
Argentina
Mendoza and San Juan together held about 98 ha in 2007. Tittarelli is among the producers that have made a varietal wine from it.