Most Lambrusco reaches the market through pressurized autoclave tanks. Marco Lanzotti refuses to own one. At Angol d'Amig, his base wines ferment dry, settle through winter, and then restart in spring when he adds frozen must saved from the previous harvest, finishing their second fermentation in the bottle the way Emilian families once made wine for themselves.
Backstory
Marco Lanzotti founded Angol d'Amig in 2013. The name means "friends' corner" in the Modenese dialect, a nod to wine as something shared rather than sold. His path into wine ran through the kitchen of the Stallo del Pomodoro osteria in Modena, where he came to know the region's leading natural growers.
Before launching his own label he worked alongside respected Emilian producers including Vittorio Graziano, Ca' de Noci, and Cinque Campi, learning both organic farming and the discipline of bottle refermentation. He began with a single rented hectare at the San Polo organic farm and built outward from there.
The Region
The estate sits in Vaciglio, in the countryside southeast of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. This is the heartland of Lambrusco, a flat, fertile plain shaped by the rivers running off the Apennines. Marco now works six hectares spread across three vineyard sites, on soils that mix clay, limestone, and sand of alluvial origin.
Vineyards & Farming
The vines are farmed organically, with no synthetic herbicides or fertilizers. Marco grows the classic Modenese varieties: Lambrusco di Sorbara, Lambrusco Salamino, and Lambrusco Grasparossa for the reds and rosatos, plus Pignoletto, Trebbiano Modenese, and Trebbiano di Spagna for the whites.
Winemaking
Everything happens by hand and by nature. Fermentations rely on native yeasts, with no temperature control and almost no sulfur, around two grams per hectoliter added after fermentation. The base wine ferments dry and rests on its lees through the cold months. In spring Marco triggers the second fermentation by adding frozen must reserved from the prior vintage, then bottles after roughly twenty days. The wines carry gentle pressure, generally 2 to 2.5 bars.
The Wines
The range is small and personal. "Scaramusc" is a sparkling red Lambrusco blend, "Spoma?" a pale Lambrusco di Sorbara rosato, and "Pulonia" a white frizzante. "Qui e Ora" is a more energetic, undisgorged col fondo bottling that reaches higher pressure. All show the cloudy, savory, low-alcohol character of traditional bottle-fermented Lambrusco.
