Modena is a town in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, famous for producing balsamic vinegar and some of the world's most famous sports cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati, among others). Since April 2000 the city's aged vinegar has been protected from inferior imitations by its Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOC, and in 2009 this was joined by the Modena wine DOC.
Modena wines are all sparkling, but they come in a variety of styles – not just red, rose and white but also varietal and blended. Both frizzante (light and semi-sparkling) and spumante (foaming) sparkling wines are made under the title, and the area is best known for these; in fact, Modena lies at the heart of Emilia-Romagna's 'Lambrusco zone'.
Prior to 2009, the town's only DOC was Lambrusco di Modena, which covered the same style of sparkling red wine as Emilia-Romagna's other Lambrusco DOCs. In the early years of the 21st century, the need for a title to cover non-Lambrusco wines led to a broadening of this DOC and its renaming to Modena. The Lambrusco grape family remains important here, however, even though it has been joined by Trebbiano, Pignoletto, Ancellotta and Malbo Gentile. These varieties are not new to the region and have long been used as minor components in Lambrusco wines, particularly Ancellotta for its intense pigment. Pignoletto has proved its worth in the past few decades, most visibly through the wines of the Colli Bolognesi Classico Pignoletto DOCG.
Almost all Modena wines are fairly low in alcohol, and their legally required minimum alcohol content is just 9.5%. This is either the cause or the result, depending on one's opinion, of the residual sugar which is so noticeable on the palate. Balsamic vinegar is made from Lambrusco, Ancellotta and Trebbiano grapes of all clones and sub-varieties, as well as Sauvignon Blanc, Sgavetta and Occhio di Gatta, whose name means 'cat's eye'.
