One of the first bottles of wine I bought when I turned 21 was Riunite Lambrusco. As a kid, I had seen my parents and their friends drinking it. And because I was always given a "taste" as a teenager, I knew what to expect: an easy drinking red wine with bright, sweet flavors of cherries and strawberries and just enough bubbles to make a soft fizz in the glass. It came in a screw cap bottle, and was a great buy. Fun to drink and share.

A few years ago I learned about the REAL lambrusco. It was dry. BONE dry. And was not cheap or screw-capped. In fact, there are 8 types of lambrusco grapes. Most lambrusco wines are made from a blend of the grapes but the best use just one. The grape itself is not sweet, but winemakers made it that way for the American palate by stopping fermentation and leaving residual sugar or adding a bit of grape must. I was intrigued. But as usual, supply to the US was limited and getting bottles of dry lambrusco in Indianapolis was even more of a challenge.

Thankfully times have changed and I got my hands on a bottle 2011 Cavicchioli Vigna del Cristo Lambrusco di Sorbara. The Cavicchioli family makes this top quality wine from 100% lambrusco sorbara. This dry, fizzy red wine is STILL a fun drink but worlds away from the sweet rush of Riunite. I recently hosted a birthday dinner for one of the neighbors and thought the time was right to see what the group thought about this blast from the past party wine. Was glad I did. Even those who had only had the sweet style of lambrusco found this dry, crisp, red fruit driven, slightly effervescent wine a welcome taste. Comments included, "evaporates clean", "dry not anything like Riunite", and my favorite comment from the birthday boy who along with his wife had recently returned from a visit to Italy, "almost enchanting, this makes me crave my wife".

My notes: Aromas of almond, dried black cherries. Crisp clean sophisticated flavors of plum, black cherry. Palate cleansing and delicious pairing with black and green olives.

Also on the birthday beverage roster that night-some of the celebrant's favorite varietals and bottles that can be easily found and enjoyed with food:

2010 Chateau La Fleur Morange Mathilde, Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, France-100% merlot. Bold nose of plum, leather, red fruit. Intense notes of red plum, currant, vanilla. Elegant wine with grippy tannins primed for beef.

2010 Michel Torino Malbec, Argentina-Inviting nose of cedar, black fruit. Rich bold flavors of blackberry, wild blueberry, white pepper. Delicious.