Why it matters
The producer
Fattoria Moretto is a third-generation family estate in Castelvetro di Modena, a hill town in the Emilia-Romagna Apennine foothills south of Modena. The Altariva family farms Grasparossa exclusively, on a single hillside subzone called Monte Barello, within the Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOP appellation. Everything the estate bottles comes from that hillside and that one grape.
Most people who associate Lambrusco with sweet, lightly fizzy red wine have not encountered Grasparossa from this elevation. Fattoria Moretto makes dry, deeply coloured, tannic sparkling red wine. The grape, the site, and the decision to farm organically and harvest by hand all point in the same direction: intensity over approachability, specificity over volume.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Castelvetro di Modena sits in the hills south of Modena, at the northern edge of the Apennines. Lambrusco is widely associated with the flat Po Valley floor, where the grape grows in abundance and produces lighter, high-volume wines. The Castelvetro DOP pulls the appellation up into the hills, and Monte Barello is the only formally recognized subzone within it.
Fattoria Moretto's vineyards on Monte Barello sit at approximately 200 metres above sea level. The elevation extends the growing season compared to valley-floor sites, allowing Grasparossa to accumulate ripeness without losing its acidity. The hillside orientation and cooler nights preserve the grape's natural aromatic complexity. On the label, the Monte Barello subzone identification places the wine in the most geographically specific tier the DOP allows.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Certified organic farming means no synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilisers in the Monte Barello vineyards. The estate holds ICEA organic certification, the Italian body whose mark appears on Tasso's label. Manual harvesting ensures that only whole clusters reach the cellar, avoiding oxidation and skin damage that would add bitter tannin and reduce aromatic freshness.
Low yields concentrate flavour in the fruit. Where higher-yielding vineyards dilute colour and tannin, Fattoria Moretto's approach to vine management keeps Grasparossa's naturally thick skins and deep pigmentation working in the wine's favour.
Wines to know
The range in view
The estate makes six wines, five of them from Grasparossa and one sparkling white. The Grasparossa range covers five distinct styles: dry red sparkling, semi-sweet red sparkling, rosé sparkling, and two cuvées differentiated by vineyard selection or vine age. This breadth of interpretation from one grape on one hillside is the range's architecture: Grasparossa is not presented as a one-note variety but as a grape with enough range of expression to carry a full portfolio.
Tasso is the dry red sparkling Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOP, the entry-level and most widely distributed wine. It draws on Monte Barello fruit, carries ICEA organic certification, and shows a fruit profile built on raspberry, strawberry, and cherry alongside rose, geranium, menthol, and iodine notes. Its colour is deep ruby-violet, the tannin is present and firm, and the acidity is vivid. The wine is dry, not off-dry.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Tasso is the bottle. It is a dry red sparkling Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOP from Monte Barello, organically farmed, Martinotti-method, and it is what Grasparossa from Castelvetro's hills actually tastes like when the grape is taken seriously.