good clean spumante igp – brut sparkling wine from emilia italy
“i experienced no day-after symptoms and good clean spumante doesn’t make me sleepy like most sparkling wines.” —kristi f.
an un-oaked, crisp, tart, sparkling wine with flowery notes of hawthorne and white fruit. light refreshing bubbles offer a gentle tingle between morsels and secrets. perfect as an aperitif, or for making wine cocktails and spritz.
description: spumante means sparkling. the italian term given to sparkling wine in the 1800’s made with a blend of various lambrusco grapes. un-oaked, medium-bodied and delightfully dry. fruit-forward and bursting with delicate bubbles. notes of green apple, lush blossom, and white peach compliment a citrusy acidity.
region: good clean spumante hails from carpi in modena province in the emilia-romagna region of italy. located in the northeast part of central italy, known as the land of bubbly wine and tortellini. the vineyard soil, sandy and wet, rich in nutrients, surrounded by poplars and elms, makes for a magnificent sight. known for its rich food products (parmigano-reggiano cheese, prosciutto di parma ham, bolognese and balsamic vinegars) and as the birthplace of beautiful sparkling wines respectful of tradition. this region was declared by forbes as italy’s greatest gastronomic treasure.
winemaking: wines which are respectful of the tradition, but at the same time represent the lightheartedness of the region. good clean spumante grape growers and wine makers have full control of the production cycle from the vineyard to the bottle. good clean spumante is “naturally sparkling”, meaning there is no addition of any co2. the bubbles are 100% natural because they are the result of the fermentation of the natural yeast that “eats” the fructose in the grape juice transforming it into alcohol and natural co2 (bubbles). cin cin to very natural bubbles!
grapes: a refreshing blend of native italian pignoletto, sorbara, and salamino grapes sustainably grown using organic and biodynamic farming, in emilia-romagna with little to no intervention.
pignoletto: a white italian grape with greek origins named after the pine cone because of the shape of its bunch and that the vines can climb up trees and grown on them. a blending grape with a thick skin, rich in tannins, with strong resistance to downy mildew. blended to add richness and structure, and herbal and nutty flavors to good clean spumante. its often called the king of the bolognese wine region.
sorbara: an indigenous lambrusco grape that can be found naturally growing on the edge of the woods throughout modena. a medium grape with thick, waxy, bluish-black skin. with high vigor, that matures late and produces a clear ruby-red colored wine with a pinkish froth and very fine aroma of violet that tastes delicate, fresh, fruity, and balanced.
salamino: indigenous emilia-romagna lambrusco black grape. ripens late and is often blended with sorbara to add a touch of natural sweetness, body, juicy acidity with a dry finish to brut sparkling wines. with aromas of red cherry, strawberry, blackberry, violet, and rose. ruby red in color.
type of soil: loose, permeable, sandy and rich of silt
training system: gdc, guyot or spurred cordon
vine density: 3000 plants / hectar
harvesting time: mid to late september
fermentation: spumante gets its bubbles from a two-step closed martinotti/charmat then autoclave fermentation where native yeasts stimulate the fermentation.
primary fermentation: the grapes are squeezed and as the must ferments it develops co2 that is allowed to escape to obtain the still wine . solids are filtered/removed after alcohol is made with a fossil floor filter, a micro-filter, a gross flyer, or tangential filter.
secondary fermentation: to make the wines sparkling, the winemakers add the sweet filtered/filtrato dolce (pure natural grape juice derived and obtained from the freshly harvested and squeezed grapes that were micro filtered to separate the yeasts). we’ve tasted this naturally sweet freshly pressed grape juice that was separated from the yeasts right from that tank during our visit at harvest in 2019.
maturation: the separated yeasts are added to the pressurized stainless tank to start fermentation again, the co2 is captured and does not escape and then becomes sparkling. “co2 saturated environment”: must = juice and skins, is kept in special presses saturated with natural co2 which protect the fermenting wines from oxidation without the need of adding sulfites.
bottling: starting from march of the following year.
ageing potential: best drank young, within 2 years from its harvest.
pairs with: veggie or seafood risotto, fall harvest foods, s’mores by the fire, your favorite fried chicken. a perfect match with salami, prosciutto, mortadella, and barbecue pork. or as an aperitif and also with dessert.
serve at: 45-55 degrees in a white, universal glass, champagne flute or coup.
alcohol: 11.5% abv
acidity: 6.1 g/l
residual sugar: 12 g/l, less than 1.77 grams per residual sugar per 5oz glass. residual sugar in popular sparkling brut white wines can have as much as 50 g/l of sugar and can contain up to 9.25 grams pf sugar per glass. sweet champagnes and sparkling wines can contain up to 129 grams of sugar per glass.
calories: 105 per 5oz glass
carbs: 2 grams per 5oz glass
sulfites: total 120 mg/l
igp: indicazione geografica protetta. indicates the quality and reputation of the wine is linked to the place and region where it is produced, processed and prepared.
it’s good on special occasions, like anniversaries on tuesday nights. lighter than a proposal, fuller than a fling.
it’s clean and minimal-intervention, produced and grown sustainably in small batches in the emilia-romagna region. it’s bubbly like the people who live there and you after a glass, or several.
it’s wine that sparkles on your tongue and brings cheer(s) to every season, to gift to loved ones, like yourself.