Zanasi is a small estate, about 55 acres of vineyards, just south of Modena. Some of the vines are cultivated organically (and are so certified), others by Integrated Pest Management; yields are low, in order to ensure good concentration of aroma and flavor. Winemaking is relatively straightforward: ‘We work the wine as little as possible, in order to preserve the color and the fruit perfume that the grapes give us.’

​

Made entirely of the Grasparossa (red-stemmed) variety of Lambrusco grown in two vineyards just south of Modena, planted between 1964 and 2002. This variety of Lambrusco grown in these soils gives the chewiest, deepest, darkest Lambrusco wine. The soils are limestone-based clay; the altitude is about 100 meters (330 feet) above sea level; yields are kept very low in order to concentrate the aromas and flavors. The grapes are normally picked in early October; after about 5-6 days of maceration on the skins at low temperature without fermentation the grapes are pressed, and fermented in special tanks from juice to sparkling wine in a single fermentation using indigenous yeasts. After several months on the lees in tank the wine is filtered and bottled. (Marco notes that extracting color by macerating at cold temperature like this extracts only the ‘first, most noble’ layers of flavor in the skins, avoiding the bitterness that would come if fermentation started with the skins.)