Both a wine and a mission statement, "No Autoclave" blends three indigenous varieties of Lambrusco: Salamino di Santa Croce, Sorbara, and Pignolesco, which are co-fermented. As per its name, bubbles are created within each bottle via the addition of a small amount of unfermented grape must to the dry wine, which the leftover yeasts eat over the course of a few months. This wine soars from the glass aromatically, announcing with force that it was produced from healthy fruit unfettered by cellar control-freakery. Tangerine, earthy cherry, wild herbs, a wisp of appetizing volatility, Szechuan peppercorn; it's a real maelstrom that manages to come together on a tangy palate of remarkable precision, with a clinging yet pure texture that somehow puts one in the mind of great Alpine wine, and subtle bubbles that hang back and let the vinous core of the wine shine through. In fact, the wine is so delicious and complex that it's easy to forget the bubbles are even there.
In 2008, Gianluca Bergianti founded Terrevive with 16 hectares in the village of Gargallo di Carpi just outside Modena, operating according to strict biodynamic principles since day one. He has since expanded to 35 hectares, growing cereals, vegetables, fruits, herbs, and, of course, grapes?although vineyards, planted entirely to autochthonous varieties, comprise just 10 total hectares in this calculatedly polycultural setting. Gianluca's commitment to low cellar intervention and to the pre-Charmat-method traditional method for producing Lambrusco?he even has a wine called "No Autoclave"?results in wines of shocking immediacy, intense personality, riveting acidity, and organoleptic qualities which do not fit neatly into boxes.
