Modena

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The soils of the Modena area fall into three representative types: loose and sandy in the foothill belt, medium-textured in the mid-plain, and clay-rich across most of the plain.
• The plain soils belong to Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial deposits, while the hill and mountain soils are of Cretaceous and Eocene origin and rich in very fine and colloidal particles.
• In the mid-plain, on Sant'Omobono silty-clay loam soils, the Winkler index ranges from 1,900 to 2,000 degree-days, with April–October rainfall of around 450 mm.
• In the foothill and hill zone, on slightly calcareous soils of the Apennine margin and calcareous soils of the lower Apennines associated with badlands (calanchi), the Winkler index ranges from 1,890 degree-days at Vignola, at 120–125 m elevation, to 2,028 degree-days at Levizzano Rangone, at 135 m.
• The clay-heavy and compact nature of most soils in the Modena area has historically made farming difficult, a challenge that remains relevant today.

• In 1300, the Bolognese agronomist Pier de' Crescenzi noted in his agricultural treatise that black Lambrusco grapes colour and clarify wines without spoiling their flavour when added whole to the vessels.
• In June 1430, Duke Nicolò III d'Este decreed that half the duty on all wine transported from Modena to Paris be waived, in order to promote its trade.

• Lambrusco is a red wine, also made in frizzante or spumante style, with a brilliant ruby colour, best served at 12–14 °C to fully appreciate its fragrances and aromas.
• From Modena-area grapes, the wines produced include ruby-coloured reds and deeply coloured wines with violet tendencies, showing medium-high acidity and medium-low structure, as well as straw-yellow whites with good acidity and medium structure.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0347
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Lambrusco