The Cleto Chiarli, Grasparossa de Castelvetro Lambrusco from Emilia Romangna, Italy.

This beautiful Saturday in August we joined dear friends for a cruise around Manhattan, sampling wines and cheeses of the world–all paired by our hostess Ms. Wendy Crispell.  The final wine of the day was this one: the Cleto Chiarli, Grasparossa de Castelvetro Lambrusco from Emilia Romangna, Italy.  It was light, fresh, and brought a smile to our faces.  It was matched up with the Capra Sarda in Sardinia.  According to our guide, the Brothers Pinna made this thermalized goat’s milk, gathered from small, independent farms dotting the rocky landscape.  Its flavor was “sweet and compulsively edible, with brown butter aromas.”  To me, the La Tour was the best of the cheese samples, but the Capra Sarda did seem to go well with the Sparkling Lambrusco.  Here is Wendy’s synopsis of the red:

“The winery was founded in 1860 by Cleto Chiarli who, until that date, managed the “Trattoriadell’Artigliere” in the center of Modena and was already producing Lambrusco for the habitues of his restaurant.  Sparkling Lambrusco is one of the planet’s most versatile beverages.  It will pair with pretty much anything, from cured meats to Thai.  Grasparossa is the most typical of this style of red and the Cleto Chiarli shows bright strawberry fruit, mouth-tickling bubbles, and just a hint of sweetness on the end; not anywhere close to being sticky, but just the right amount of something with that little kick, such as some spicy sausage piled high on your slice.  This is classic, delicious, traditional wine that has a near-universal appeal.  Really, who doesn’t like Lambrusco?”

We swirled our glasses from the deck of our boat, passing beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, the South Street Seaport, and heading out to pass Lady Liberty.  This one would be amazing with pizza.  Great to finish our wine tour, and would be absolutely amazing with a pie.