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THE H I L LS OP EM I L I A - ROMAGNA . ALAMBRUSCO - MAK ING FAMI LY UNCORKS THE HOL IDAY SEASON WI TH A JOYFUL MEAL - AND PLENTY OF GREAT SPARKL I NG WI NE . >

B Y R A Y I S L E R E C I P E S B Y A L I C I A L I N I P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y C E D R I C A N G E L E S

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I F ● -H- ● ANYONE MA K E S A S ARCA S T I C COMMEN T a b o u t S a n t a L u c i a lonighi, Iwill have to kill them," Alicia Uni says cheerfully as she folds the pasta wrapper of atortelli. This will come as a familiar sentiment to anyone with joung children who's ever tried to keep loose-lipped relatives from inadvertently (or inlcn- tionally) revealing that Santa Claus is... Well. You know, Here in Kmllla-Romagna, Instead of afat fellow with awhite beard, the tradition is that Santa Lucia, tiding adonkey and accompanied by her escort Castaldo, visits homes the night before December i3, bringing presents for children to find the next morning. One tortelli neatly folded around Its filllng-a mix of butternut squash,Parmigiano,crushedamaretticookies,andnutmeg-she moves on to the next, and the next, and the next. Midstream, her daughlers-Alba. 12.A?.zurTa, 10. andAlena. 8-show up to help; It takes alot of tortelli to feed 12 people.And of course the tortelli have to be right. There's no more critical an audience than one's own family. "Il’s all about the proportions of the ingredients In the illllng," Alicia explains, fingers moving deftly. "In Mantova. they are more aromatic. Correggio abit sweeter, plusevery family has their own recipe, too, from grandmother to mother on down." Every year, the entire Uni fanjily gets together on the night before Santa Lucia Day for aholiday feast. There Is alwuys but¬ ternut squash tortelli: there Is always bollito misto with brisket, chicken, and cotechino sausage slowly simmered to tenderness; always erbazzone Reggiano, the crisp, savory spinach pie that's typical of the region, always fiaky fruit-and-nut-lillcd cookies to finish the meal. The world round, family holiday dinners are rituals as much as they are celebrations. To go with the Unis' dinner, also as alwa>-s. there will be plenty of their own Uni 910 laimbrusco. The dinner is held at their winery, just outside the Emilia-Romagna town of Correggio, wliere for over 100 years now the family has made some of the best Lambrusttjs thereare. To some people, it might come as asurprise that there is good Lambnisco. The wine's image has long battled against the impression that it’s aslightly sweet, innocuous, fizzy pink drink. (Try googling "Riunite on ice, that's nice!" if you wunt to travel back in time to when this problem all started.) But tradi¬ tional Lambnisco Is diy and crisp, an excellent foil for the rich food of Emilia-Romagna. Alicia's father, Fablo, who makes the Uni wines, says, “Ifyou drlnka glass of 15% alcohol wine, j-ou get drunk on one glass. With Lambrusco, you can drink more glasses-quality with quanlity!-and not fed bad. Balance and drinkablllty is our goal. And that the day after, ytm feelgood." Fabio Uni has also long been absolutely firm about making top-qualliy Lambnisco. Me and his siblings. Massimo and Anita, bought out the rest of their family’s interests in the winery years ago, at atime, Alicia Lini sa>'s, ‘when the entire Lam¬ brusco market was for 'red Coke.” The first years were tough.

"My dad and uncle and aunt were always reaching into tiicir pockets," the three of them trying to sustain abelief in quality Lambnisco against what was essentially atidal wave of industri¬ ally produced sugary fizz. Alicia, who iiad finished abusiness school degree and gone into the family trade, confronted her father at one point. "After three or four years trying to sell our wine. Icameback tomydadatids;iid, ‘Nooneunderstandsyour quality. You have to make something easier for the market. Our competitors are killing us.” She laughs, "lie said, 'OK. you go work for Pnida or Max Mara then If you don’t understand what we're doing.' And my brother's joke Is that 1applied, but no one hired me. so Istayed at the wineryl" Brothers are like that. Wlien her lirother. Aiessio. arrives that evening, he greets her with. "Alicia! You look so beautiful for SOI” She is. in fact, 41. It's clear they're used to giving each other ahard time, in an alfectionate way. Soon, the rest of the family arrives, everyone gathering in abottle-lined room off the main winery, drinking glasses of rose' Limbrusco poured from magnums, chilled down in apunch bowl full of ice cubes into which holly berries and leaves have been frozen. The talk Is of llie mundane-the kids' schools, how traffic has changed, whether anew painting of Alicia’s great-grandmother looks too slcm-and the less so; COVID has cast apall over much of theyear, asEmilia-Romagnawasoneof the regionshardest hit in Italy. But no one in the family got the virus, and because the Italian government considers winemaking avital industry, pro¬ ductionnever stopped. ("Our teamwas alreadyworkingmeters away from each other even before the pandemic." Alicia says, “soevenafter havingadoptedeverysafetymeasure, everything we do was still viable.’) Soon it’s time for dinner. Alicia’s brother and her cousin Alberto pop the corks on bottles of the winery’s nonvinlage Ijbrusca ros^ and Its 2006 Metodo Classico Rosso, the family's top wine. There wall be the nutty-creamy, llj^tiy sweet buitermii squash tortelU: falling-apart brisket: succulent chicken: savory, fatty rounds ofcoiechino sausage, each bite accompanied by a salsa verde tangy with comichons and capers; and more. But first, at each place, there lies afir twig and holly leaf tied to a Utile paper tag. On one side it says in red pen, "Santa Lucia ti portera ..." and on the other, what the saint wilt bring each guest this >«ar: union, harmony, money, perseverance, ambi¬ tion, low. satisfaction, truth, creativity, energj'. Alicia gets truth. Her cousinAlberto gets creativity, which provokes laughter; he works with logistics and sales for the winery. Her mother, money. “I will?" she says, archly, "Well, where is it?" Andherfather,Fabio.getsperseverance."Sosad."Aliciasays, gising him ahug. “UTien all you want is to relax and have aholi¬ day." But. hardworking winemaker to the core, he just shrugs and pours himself another glass of the family’s wine. c a n

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FAMILY'S

NVLINI910 LABRUSCA LAMBRUSCO ROSSO ($18) Deep purpiy-red and full of lively effervescence. this earthy red Lambrusco makes afantastic dinner- party-main-course wine, whether lor the holidays or any other time of year—it's equal parts surprising and 2006 UNI 910 METODO CLASSICO ROSSO ($40) Fabio Lini employs the same process as Champagne for his top bottling, allowing the wine to gam its soarkle by m e a n s o f a s e c o n d f e r m e n - delicious.

N V L I N I 9 1 0 L A B R U S C A LAMBRUSCO BIANCO ^SJS; Fabio Uni uses 100% Sala- mine for this apple-scented while Lambrusco. The Salamino grape itself is red. but by crushing the fruit and then remov ng the skins before they have time to affect the hue o' the wine, it NVLINI 910 LABRUSCA LAMBRUSCO R0S£(SJB; R o s e L a m b r u s c o s a r e becoming more and more popular, and Lini's version is one of the best: lull of red cherry and strawberry slays apale gold color.

Bollfio Mistu (recipe p. 124), sliced ariii screed ii'itli un array o/comllmen ts and canlonil. Indudini; pickled gurden pcgeiablesatid

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T R A V E L I N G I N L A M B R U S C O C O U N T R Y

In Emilia-Romagna. Lambfusco producers are scattered throughout the areas around Modena and Reggio Emilia The best are family- owned, most of them small (but not all-the Modena-based Chiarli family, lor instance, makes very good artisanal Lambrusco under its Cleto Chiarli brand but also vast amounts of inenpensive bottles for Europeansupermarkets).Emilia-RomagnaisalsowheresomeofItaly's best food oan be found, from world-famous destinations like chef Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana to casual trattorias serving absurdly good tortellini in brodoor tagliatelle alia bolognese Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese was born here: so was PellegrinoArtusi, known as the father of Italian gastronomy (casartusi.it) And don't forget tradizionale balsamic vinegar, the worth its-weight-in-gold, hyper-concentrated elimr that many wineries here also produce.

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W H E R E T O S T A Y

this 35-seat destination. Chef Tommaso Maio concentrates on hyper-local ingredients for dishes like tiny, curly gramigna a! torchio pasta with amoun¬ tain of sausage ragii and fresh herbs. Irattonadiviaserra.it W I N E R I E S T O V I S I T As always with European winer¬ ies, it's best to make arrange¬ ments for avisit in advance. U N I 9 1 0 Located near the small town of Correggio, Lini's winery is open for visits, but get in touch ahead of time for an appoint¬ ment. "We re always happy to open any or all of our wines and to serve visitors our vinegars.' Alicia Lini says lini9J0.tl VENTURINI BALDINI This grand estate was built m the 1500s in the hills southwest of Reggio Emilia. Tours are avail¬ able Monday through Saturday, and tastings typically include the Baldini wines as well as the estate's vinegars and local food products, venturimba/dini.fr CLETO CHIARLI Lambruscos at this top pro¬ ducer near Modena are always accompanied by aplate of local salumi and gnssini. The winery's Vecchia Modena is one of the best Lambruscos avail¬ able in the U.S., but also see if you can taste some of the less widely available cuv^es, tike the deep pink, fresh berry-tart Lambrusco del Fondatore. c h ( a r l u t PA LT R I N I E R I This tiny winery in the town of Sorbara was founded by Achiile Pallrinieri in 1926. Today it's run by hisgrandson Alberto, who makes thnllingly precise, complex Lambruscos His pale red. spicy Sant'Agata battling is aquality benchmark. cant1n3paitrin1en.it

C A S A M A R I A L U I G I A Chef Massimo Bottura's beauti¬ fully converted 18th-century country house near Modena offers 12 distinctive guest rooms, each furnished with vintage and contemporary art. The nightly tasting menu offers guests a chance to try the dishes that made his Osteria Francescana one of the worfd’s greatest restaurants—a nice thing, as areservation there is nigh-on impossible to score. (Rooms from $533, casamaria /wgia.comj ALBERGO DEI MEOAGLIONI located in an old palace In the center of Correggio, this rambling hotel makes fora comfortable, old-fashioned base for visiting wineries mthe area. (Rooms from $1J7, albergo deimedag/ioni.corn) FRANCESCANA AT MARIA L U I G I A Travelers who don't feel like stay¬ ing the night at Casa Maria Luigia can still book reservations for dinner here and sample many of chef Massimo Bottura's most famously conceptual (and deli¬ cious) dishes, like Five Ages of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Oops! IDropped the Lemon Tart, casa manaluigia.com OSTERIA DEL FILOSSO This restaurant in Correggios the perfect place to stop after (or before) avisit to the Lini winery. Nothing fancy here, just perfectly prepared classics like cappelletti in capon broth and lasagna with atraditional Emilian ragu in a small, charming dining room. The substantial wine list only adds to the pleasure, oslenadelfilosso.il TRATTORIA 01 VIA SERRA Head farther afield to Bologna lor the daily-changing menu at W H E R E T O E A T

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(old circle in half to form ahalf-moon that encloses the fillme, and press edges together firmly to create aV4-inch seal around filling. Gently crimp edges using afork. Place on prepared baking sheet. Once baking sheet is filled with half of the assembled cookies, place in refrigera¬ tor, and repeat process with remaining dough disk and preserves mixture. Chill both baking sheets of cookies at least 15 m i n u t e s . 4. Whisk together egg yolk and 1table¬ spoon water in asmall bowl. Using afork, prick tops of cookies to vent, and lightly brush cookies with egg yolk mixture. Bake cookies in preheated oven until ouffed and set. 20 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheets between top and bottom racks halfway through bake time. Transfer cookies to awire rack, and tet cool 30 minutes. Dust cookies with powdered sugar, and serve. MAKEAHEAD Dough Can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to use. Fully cooled baked cookies may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2days. Oust with powdered sugar before serving. NOTE Saba Is available at amazon.com. Candied citron is available at paradiselruitco.com.

1large egg, separated 1Tbsp. water

To r t e i l i n i D o l c i a l F o r n o (Emilian Fruit-Stuffed Christinas Cookies) ACTIVE IHfi 10 MIN: TOTAL 3HR 10 MIN MAKES 2DOZEN COOKIES Not to be confused with the pasta of the same name, these classic Bmilian Christ¬ mas cookies are made from atender, flaky dough filled w.th asweet-tart tno of fruit: cherry preserves, rich saba (cooked-down grape must), and candied citron. 2Vi cups Itallan-style 00 flour (about llVi oz.). plus more for work s u r f a c e 2tsp. grated lemon zest Vz tsp. kosher salt V« cup cold unsalted butter (6 oz.), cut intoVz-inch pieces V> cup (4 oz.} anisette (anise-flavored liqueur) Vz tsp. vanilla extract Vz cup cherry preserves (such as Bonne Maman) V] cup chopped toasted slivered a l m o n d s Vi cup diced candied citron (such as Paradise Fruit Company) 2Vi Tbsp. saba (reduced grape must syrup) (such as La Ca dal Non)

Powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Place flour, lemon zest, and salt in a food processor, and pulse until combined, about 2pulses. Add butter: pulse In 3-second bursts until butter forms small crumbs, about 4pulses. Add anisette and vanilla extract, and pulse iust until dough comes together in amass, about 6pulses. Shape dough evenly Into 2(4-inch) disks. Wrap dough disks in plastic wrap, and chilli hour. 2. Meanwhile, stir together preserves, almonds, citron, and saba in asmall bowl. Chill, uncovered, until ready to use, 3. Preheat oven to 350*F with racks in upper third and lower third positions.' Whisk egg white in asmall bowl until smooth. Line 2large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap and roll out 1dough diskon alightly floured work surface to V%-inch thick¬ ness. Cut out 12 circles using a4-inch round cutter, rerolling scraps as needed. Spoon 2level teaspoons of filling onto each dough circle. Working with 1dough circle at atime, lightly brush dough edges with egg white, making sure to brush all the way to the outer edge of the circle:

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