Lambrusco is making a comeback

Back in the '80s, Steve Maglieri's Lambrusco was THE party wine in Australia.

Weddings, parties, anything ... people couldn't get enough of the sweet, red sparkling. At its peak, it was selling 500,000 cases a year.

Those numbers caught the eye of Mildara Blass, which bought the Maglieri Wines company, including its Lambrusco label, in 1999 Mildara Blass.

But tastes moved on, people began drinking drier table wines and Lambrusco fell out of favour.

Now, almost 20 years after selling the "Maglieri" brand, its founder has won it back.

There were several changes in corporate ownership along the way, with Mildara is now TWE. But Maglieri has remained intent on getting the eponymous label back in the family.

“I kept at them and eventually one of the managers in Melbourne said to me that I’m the one who should have the name,” Maglieri told The Adelaide Advertiser. “I cried.

“It means a lot for me and more for my grandchildren, to get back my surname for them.” 

Lambrusco makes a comeback

Now Maglieri is hoping to interest a new generation of wine drinkers in the Lambrusco style of wine.

However, new international trade regulations mean a wine can only be labelled as Lambrusco if it is from the traditional Italian varietals. So Maglieri "La Brusco" has been born. 

Maglieri's original Lambrusco was made from McLaren Vale grenache with 10% shiraz and the new version follows a similar recipe.

Maglieri thinks the wine has potential to appeal to Australian palates as a pre-dinner drink with ice. He also believes it has huge potential in the Chinese market. 

He's not alone in identifying its renewed appeal. There's been speculation the sparkling could be the new booming category, following in the footsteps of rosé.

Delish says Lambrusco is "having a moment" and raves: " If rosé and red wine had a baby ... it still wouldn't be as good as this."

Even Vogue has declared it "buzzworthy" and "the drink of summer."

Discover Lambrusco insists wine never lost its mojo.

"Sales of industrial 4-9.5% alcohol versions crashed worldwide in ‘85," it notes. "There’s no 'comeback'. It’s a discovery of real (min 11% alc) Lambrusco!"