Not that we are knocking Prosecco, but now that it's everywhere (and, uh, not always the greatest quality), we think it's time for you to know about a cool, under-the-radar sparkling wine: Lambrusco Bianco, aka Good Clean Spumante.
Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine typically made with the Glera grape, hailing from the Italian village Prosecco near Trieste. Lambrusco is the traditional wine of Emilia-Romagna, which also the region that gave the world prosciutto di Parma, Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, and tortellini, making it a very gastronomically important region.
(Spumante means "sparkling wine" in Italian. Technically, every sparkling wine made in Italy is considered spumante.)
Lambrusco has a long, solid history in Italy (some grape varietals date back to the Bronze Age) but it's relatively unknown in the U.S. outside of wine experts. We think that makes it the perfect wine to stage a Prosecco coup.
Our Good Clean Spumante is dry but fruity, with light, elegant bubbles and a clean finish. It often takes people by surprise, delighting both sweet and dry wine drinkers. If you prefer a more traditional red Lambrusco, try our dry, bold magenta Good Clean Spumante Rosé.
And anything you can do with Prosecco, you can do with Good Clean Spumante.
Aperitif: An alcoholic drink before a meal to prepare the palate for the food to come. At a dinner party, greet guests with a glass of Good Clean Spumante or a classic Italian spritz.
Brunch: Spumante is wonderful in a mimosa. Or, by itself. Good Clean Spumante makes an excellent breakfast wine.
Dessert: Add Spumante as an ingredient to cake batters, frostings, and gelatin desserts for a slight fizz, or serve with strawberries, strawberry shortcake, cookies, or tiramisu.
Celebrating: Spumante is an exceptional, affordable bubbly, known as the Champagne of Via Emilia.
Cocktails: Spumante can be the effervescent heart of the Bellini, Aperol Spritz, Negroni, Martini, French 75, Kir Royal, Paloma, or Sparkly Julep. (Just to name a few...)
A few of our most popular spumante cocktails:
Berry Bellini: 3 oz Good Clean Spumante Rosé, 1 oz Aperol, 1 tablespoon sugar free raspberry preserves. Serve over ice.
Cosmo Spritz: 3 oz Spumante Rosé, 2 oz pink cranberry juice, 2 oz Aperol, 1/2 oz lime juice. Add cranberry juice, Aperol and lime juice to a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake. Strain from shaker into chilled martini glass and top with Spumante Rosé.
Kir Royale: 1 oz Créme de Cassis, 3 oz Spumante. Pour Créme de Cassis into a Champagne flute and top with chilled Spumante.
Pink Sangria: 2 oz Good Clean Rosé, 1 1/2 oz pomegranate juice, 1 oz pink grapefruit juice, 3 oz Good Clean Spumante Rosé. Add all ingredients except the Spumante to a wine glass filled with ice. Stir briefly, top with chilled Good Clean Spumante Rosé, and garnish with a slice of pink grapefruit.
Cucumber Spritz: 2 oz cucumber juice, 2 teaspoons ginger juice, 3 oz Spumante. Add cucumber juice and ginger juice to a wine glass filled with ice. Top with chilled Spumante and garnish with a slice of cucumber.
Chicer than Prosecco and less fussy than Champagne, Good Clean Spumante is your new perfect sparkling wine.
