Wine of Carpi in Emilia-Romagna
With the exception of the vineyards gathered at north north-east of the township, the vineyards has been typical of all Carpi lands from time immemorial which are the vestiges of ancient century division. There are no doubts on the antiquity of the vines: already at that time Pliny, dealing with grapevines and wine, did quote the Vitis labrusca, that is a particular grape species of Vitis vinifera from which derives the verjuice. Cato in his "De Agricoltura" wrote that the grape growing of the species named labrusca in our area, yielded nearly 300 amphorea of wine per Jugero.
The wine presently made from the grapes of the territory of Carpi is Lambrusco Salamino of Santa Croce, strictly related to that of Sorbara and Castelvetro and known to enucleate in itself the characteristics of the other two: the aromatic intensity of Grasparossa and the sparkling tingling of Sorbara. It's this production, not separate from the others, that has obtained the DOC (controlled place of origin) mark.
The wine of Carpi, which at the beginning of 1900 became one of "Le cento città d'Italia illustrate" (The hundred illustrated cities of Italy), " The territory of Carpi, almost endless wood of elms and vines, is rightly considered one of the first of Italy as much fertility as productivity of the soil.
Grapes are the main product; the local speciality is the well-known Salamino of Santa Croce sells fast in all the markets of Lombardy and Veneto... particularly numerous are the cooperative and private wine-making plants and wineries ..."
Nowadays, the old cultivation method where the vine plant was fastened to elms, mulberry trees or poplars, commonly called planting, has been replaced with the specialized and intensive cultivation, strongly centred in the south area and, particularly, at Santa Croce, from which precisely derives the appellation Salamino of Santa Croce doc wine.
Lambrusco's characteristic colour is ruby red with an alcoholic content of about 11 percent. In the gastronomic i guide of the monthly magazine " Le vie d'Italia"(The streets of Italy) dated 1940, about this wine it was written: " [...] it has the merit of a peerless innocuous delight.A cure with dry, light, slightly and naturally bubbly lambrusco, especially that of some vintages, is worth that of the waters of Montecatini or Fiuggi: it goes down without insidious dangers for the head, legs or intestine, only leaving, as a trace, a sense of gay cheerfulness."
These qualities are quite similar to what, three centuries ago, the doctor of Bologna, Baldassarre Pisanelli, affirmed that should belong to the red wine: it should be both light, as much as it can be, splendid and limpid, like the stone called ruby... It is very nourishing, produces good blood, takes the syncope out and let have pleasant dreams in the night... Red wines are all more nourishing than thin wines, due to their body they lie a little heavy on one's stomach, but don't go straight to your head, don't make you drunk, in case they do it: late everything disappears... Galeno says that he saw Athletes make use of such wines to get a real strength and they did gather big strength and they drew nourishment as they had eaten pork meat… ".
At the moment 3 eminent wine-making plants are situated in Carpi: the Wine Growers' Cooperative of Carpi, Santa Croce and the Civ & Civ Winery of San Marino
Cantina Sociale di Carpi - (Wine Growers'Cooperative of Carpi)
Add.Via De Amicis 1- Carpi Ph.059/686120 - Fax 059/652307
e-mail: cscarpi@libero.it Cantina Sociale di S.Croce
(Wine Growers'Cooperative of S.Croce) Add.S.S.468 di Correggio 35- S.Croce di Carpi
Ph.059/664007 - Fax 059/664608 Civ & Civ Cantina di Carpi (Civ & Civ Winery of Carpi)
Add.S.S. Motta, 79 - S. Marino di Carpi Ph. 059/686248 - Fax 059/652404
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