Cleto Chiarli, “Centanario”, Lambrusco, Amabile

A hundred years after its founding in 1860 the Chiarli family debuted a new wine, appropriately named “Centenario.” It used the Charmat method of effervescent winemaking that Chiarli had introduced to Lambrusco production area a few years earlier. The wine is amabile, literally lovable, a designation for wines that are sweet but not so sweet they can only be served with dessert. It’s produced with Lambrusco Grasparossa, a grape variety with deep color and high natural acidity that can counter the sugar content. The result is a well-balanced, intense red, soft, lightly effervescent wine that is indeed lovable.

In 1850, Cleto Chiarli moved with his wife Lucia and their four children to the countryside town of Modena. Here, he opened the restaurant “Osteria dell’Artigliore”, where he served his homemade Lambrusco that eventually led to the Lambrusco revolution. He closed the restaurant in 1860 to dedicate himself full time to the production of Lambrusco and established the first wine-producing company in Emilia-Romagna.

Chiarli has faithfully handed down from generation to generation the rigorous principles of seriousness, honesty and the greatest respect for quality, thus ensuring the appreciation and affection of an ever increasing clientele. Over 145 years have passed since its foundation and the Chiarli name is, more than ever, a benchmark for traditional quality Lambrusco. The estate has been managed for Mauro & Anselmo Chiarli, Cleto’s grandsons, since 1970.

In 2001, Mauro and Anselmo decided to build a new winery under the founder’s name, Cleto Chiarli. There, the best of what the Company has to offer is produced from carefully selected and homegrown grapes, with state-of-the-art equipment in an idyllic setting and, above all, with a unique know-how that only over 150 years of tradition can provide.