RINALDINI – METODO CLASSICO LAMBRUSCO

The estate was founded in the 1960’s when Paola’s father, Rinaldo Rinaldini, a local restaurant owner, decided to make the local sparkling Lambrusco wines using the Champenois method of fermenting in the bottle (called “methodo classico” in Italian). Needless to say, he was successful. 50 years later the Rinaldi's are leaders in the 'true' Labrusco movement and have to this day maintained the quality focused and highly labour intensive practice of hand remuage (the turning of the bottles, or riddling). Serious bubble from an extremely undervalued region. 

The estate’s signature wine is PJCOL Ross (pronounced “Picoll”),  eponymously named after the same ancient and endangered Lambrusco grape. The grape is named after its red stalk: "PJCOL" means stalk and "ROSS" means red. As a varietal PJCOL Ross was cultivated in Lambrusco from time immemorial, traditionally trained high in the branches of local elm trees (romantic, but not the greatest training system). However, as viticulture became more intensive and modernized PJCOL Ross was systematically replaced due to its extremely low yields. Its tiny crop load (and high quality) were anathema to the increasingly modern and purely economically driven values of the region. The grape itself almost disappeared. Thankfully half a century ago, Paola’s father, Rinaldo, discovered a few rows of PJCOL Ross on their estate and decided to propogate the nearly extinct varietal. Paola remembers that first winter very well. The fragile young PJCOL Ross were in the nursery and everyone was worried because it was a very cold winter. Paola’s father took all of the heaters from the house and put them in the nursery to keep the PJCOL Ross vines warm. It was a cold winter for Paola, but the PJCOL Ross vines survived, and now the estate has three hectares of un-grafted mature PJCOL Ross vines. We are all grateful for his efforts. 

The Rinaldinis are the only producers of PJCOL Ross varietal Lambrusco wines. Forget 'Lambrusco' the brand. These wines are a vinous re-education.