Lambrusco Grasparossa Amabile

This is a Lambrusco Grasparossa in the amabile style, so it's off-dry to lightly sweet, and it's made in Massachusetts. Grasparossa is the Lambrusco grape that gives the deepest colour and the most structure. Expect a ruby-to-purple pour with a loose, quickly fading mousse, and a frothy frizzante-style sparkle is more typical of the category than a tight, persistent bead. Styles like this usually show ripe blackberry, black cherry and wild strawberry, sometimes with a violet or dried-rose lift. Grasparossa also tends to bring a slight grip and a dry, earthy edge that keeps the sweetness from reading as syrupy. Amabile means residual sugar sits noticeably above a dry Lambrusco. Even so, the acidity and a little tannin from the skins usually keep the palate fresh, and the body stays light to medium. Oak plays no part in this style. These wines are made for bright fruit rather than wood spice, and the finish is typically short to medium, with a clean, juicy fade and a faint bitter-cherry note. Serve it well chilled, around 45 to 50°F (7 to 10°C). That's cold enough to tighten the sweetness and keep the bubbles lively, but not so cold that the fruit goes quiet. It doesn't need decanting, and the pressure from the carbonation makes airing pointless. A standard white wine glass or a tulip-shaped sparkling glass works best, because it gathers the berry aromatics. A narrow flute tends to mute them. The sweetness and acidity make it a good match for salty, fatty foods. Prosciutto, salami, mortadella and aged hard cheeses are classic partners, and so are pepperoni pizza, sausage and peppers, and cheese-stuffed pasta with a tomato sauce. It can also handle mildly spicy dishes, where the sugar softens the heat. For something sweeter, try it with berry tarts or dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, as long as the dessert isn't sweeter than the wine. This is a drink-now bottle. Lambrusco in this style is made for freshness and loses its fruit and fizz with time, so open it within a year or so of purchase and finish it within a day or two of opening, with a sparkling-wine stopper if you have one.