denny bini

“Denny Bini is one of the humble heroes of this renaissance-revolution.”

Domaine Overview

Year Founded: 2003

Winemaker: Denny Bin

Location: Reggio-Emilia, Northeast Italy

Size: 7 hectares

Grapes: Lambrusco di Sorbara, Spergola, Lambrusco Marani, Lambrusco Salamino, Lambrusco Maestri, Lambrusco Grasparossa
Farming: Practicing organic

Production: About 6,000 bottles/year

After too many years of industrially-produced mediocrity, Emilia is now home to a small but growing cell of artisanal producers who are farming carefully and returning to the metodo ancestrale (also know as Pet-Nat) of their great-grandfathers. Over the years, he has  slowly been changing his career from historic cellar master of well-known Lambrusco estate to someone with his own vineyards and cellar of mostly metodo ancestrale wines.

Denny makes two Lambrusco we currently bring in: Spuma is his bottle-fermented metodo ancestral made from the geeky high-acid Sorbara grape, and an everyday drinking sparkling red Lambrusco from Emilia, that’ become affectionally and unofficially known as the ‘Festa’  or ‘Party’ label, owing to the big ol’ table of various types of people enjoying a raucous meal, and to the fact that it’s delicious, a touch bitter, and goes down easy if you don’t overthink it (kinda like most family gatherings).

Denny’s a good person to visit to get a list of all the under the radar trattoria and agroturismi in the area, and an all around great guy.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

The Wines

'FESTA' LAMBRUSCO DELL’EMILIA NV

Lambrusco and conviviality go hand in hand, and Denny Bini’s red fizz has been a favorite of ours for so many get-togethers that we often informally call it festa, or party. This is a classic Emilian Lambrusco, with a more depth to the fruit, since Denny works so carefully in the vineyard: sweet-sour berries, with that classic Emilian bitter note on the finish. The label is an imagined festa of historical and mythical figures from Italian history. From right to left: Totò, Alberto Sordi, Silvana Mangano, Magiofagiuoli, Fantozzi, Nonna Pasta, and an unidentified baby. )

'SPUMA' FRIZZANTE EMILIA

If you’re an acid-head, and also like lasagna, there’s no better grape to look for in Emilia-Romagna than Sorbara. Long considered the more mineral-driven and less fruity Lambrusco grape, Sorbara makes sparkling wines that are racy - tingling with unripe red fruits. SPUMA is bottle fermented from our friend Denny Bini. Generations ago, according to Denny, it was always a bit of a revelation for farmers going down into the cellar to see if a bottle of their fermented wine would actually undergo secondary fermentation, and had the fizz or spuma ooze out. If it did, one declared Spuma! in anticipatory celebration of something fizzy for a meal or aperitivo.

'BUZZA' FRIZZANTE

Ah, darling Spergola: The ancient grape variety native to Emilia Romagna that has persevered as a treasured wine medium throughout the Ages. Spergola carries historical reference as the choice bev of powerful noblewomen during the High and Late Middle Ages; centuries later, it has captured the hearts and minds of Emilia’s bottle fermented wine pundits and is championed by Denny Bini. During the 11th century, the politically-minded and military-strong Matilde di Connosa gifted Spergola wine to her favorite holy man, Pope Gregory VII. Spergola was in vogue again during the 15th century, favored by the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Bianca Cappello, renowned for her beauty and intelligence.* Denny Bini’s ‘Buzza’ confidently showcases Spergola in its traditional form, highlighting its delicate citrus herbal profile and misty glow.