DaleW wrote:

>> I just recently picked up my first "serious" Lambrusco (also a
>> Grasparossa though producer's name is different IIRC). What is a good
>> food pairing for such wines?

> Charcuterie is the classic. Besides cured meats, I've had good luck
> with things like pasta with a Bolognese ragu.
> The great thing about serious Lambrusco is of course that it's not all
> that serious!
> Where's Mike T and Vilco with the real lowdown?

Here I am
Great pairings are charcuterie, true, and since this wine is acidic,
sparkling and tannic at one time, the fattier cold-cuts are the best:
pancetta (unsmoked dry aged bacon), guanciale (pork-cheek pancetta) and
salami.
The usual pairing in the area of Grasparossa is charcuterie and
"crescentine", a simple flour + water + salt dough which gets fried in
pigs's lard and which usually accompanies charcuterie and "battuto di lardo"
(minced aged lard). They look like this:
http://www.lospicchiodaglio.it/index...a&elemento=334

Another usual pairing is with charcuterie and "tigelle", more bread like and
bakled instead of fried, used almost in the same way as crescentine but
obviously less fat, so they match well with the fattier charcuterie:
http://www.pubblicitaitalia.com/cgi-...=Img&id=644 7

These two are usually served as an entree before going on with first and
second courses. The usual pairing with Grasparossa are "tortelli verdi", a
stuffed egg-dough filled with a bery enriched spinach/beet mix, with or
without ricotta. They are served with melted butter, usually flavored with
some sage, and a good sprinkling of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese:
http://mammachebuono.altervista.org/...li%20verdi.JPG

They also do very well with lasagne bolognese and passatelli in a rich
cured-chicken broth as with almost any fatty first course like eggnoodles
with ragu' bolognese, gramigna con salsiccia, etc
A picture of "Gramigna con salsiccia" (the pasta format is named after the
infesting grass):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/...d78bd24d3f.jpg

Grasparossa matches perfectly with the typical second courses of the area, I
could make a very long list but let's name the best in the pairing:
cotechino, zampone, any kind of fried meatballs, pork sausages (grilled or
boiled in wine or baked wiah a reduction of the same wine), pork chops...
Think hearthy, rich and fatty dishes, but with not too much spices in them,
and you'll find Grasparossa a very good pairing. The local kitchen here in
Emilia ROmagna tends to use few spices, in particular white and black ground
pepper, or bland/sweet spices such as the nutmeg, always present in lasagne
and many baked pasta first courses.
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rosè