Direct Press September 2025: Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna is the heart and soul of Italy’s distinguished farming heritage: just think of Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Tagliatelle, Tortellini, Prosciutto di Parma, Mortadella di Bologna, Culatello di Zibello, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, and more. But for too long it’s unpretentious, unique farmer wines have been overshadowed.
And nowhere shows the strife between industrial and natural wine quite like Emilia-Romagna. Similar to Beaujolais, its traditions and ecology were wrecked by industrial wines—in this case, sweet Lambrusco produced in airplane hangar-sized factories that bears little resemblance to the wild, fizzy farmer juice that developed over centuries.
Just like Beaujolais, Emilia-Romagna has a vibrant natural wine scene that has risen up in opposition to industrial wine's excesses.
Find out more in this month's Direct Press, featuring exclusive interviews with Elisabetta Montesissa and Giovanni Masini of Cà de Noci.
By Jonathan Kemp
Print copies go out to our monthly members but anyone can download the latest issue and purchase the wines we've selected to go along with the theme of the 'zine.
Monthly subscribers also get first dibs and discounts on the wines below — plus free shipping. Learn more here.
