Riunite Wine Review
Produced in Emilia Romagna, Italy, this review is of Riunite Wine. Specifically, Riunite Lambrusco.
There was no year on the Riunite wine bottle.
For this review, I enlisted help from a previous tasting assistant, “Big Al.” He’s helped before and his experience always makes for a better review.
According to the Riunite wine’s tasting notes, grape varieties include Lambrusco Maestri, Marani, Montericco, Salamino and Lancellotta.
You may remember the iconic TV commercials with the saying, “Riunite on ice… that’s nice!” Given that, this review includes an “on ice” tasting as well.
Alcohol content 8.0% per the bottle.
The bottle had a twist top and directed us to refrigerate after opening.
Riunite Wine Review
Sample of Riunite Lambrusco received for review purposes.
We first tried this wine without ice.
Appearance of the wine was grape or purple in color.
Riunite Lambrusco is not very dark and a good amount of light shines through.
The wine had just a few fast moving legs.
Also, when swirled you could notice the bubbliness of the wine, which is characteristic of Riunite Lambrusco.
Aroma of the Riunite wine was non-descript, and frankly non-inspiring. To be honest, we both felt the aroma was not enjoyable at all. My tasting buddy called it “objectionable.”
We described the taste of the Riunite Lambrusco as either Grape Juice (like Concord) or Black Cherry Soda.
There were no noticeable tannins and the wine had a fairly long finish.
We then tried the Riunite wine “on ice.”
The significant differences we noticed were that the wine got more bubbly, it tasted like refrigerated grape juice and brought forth some bitterness to the sides of the tongue.
Overall, Riunite Lambrusco is a sweet, almost bubbly wine. It’s not really comparable to anything else.
We went in with an open mind, but ended up pouring most of it out.
We suspect you need to really be a Lambrusco aficionado to better appreciate this wine.
We bought a jug of it and honestly I think something was wrong with it. It tasted like beer. It didn’t taste like any red wine I’ve had ( my favorite are merlots). Our bottle of lambrusco was horrible. We didn’t finish it. I was actually afraid it may be spoiled, I was afraid of getting food poisoning from it. Unfortunately the experience was so bad I’ll probably never try lambrusco again so I won’t know if was a bad bottle or that lambrusco really does taste like Guinness. The color wasn’t even the color of red wine, it was brown!
Well that certainly doesn’t sound good. I didn’t care for this wine much either, but it should have been purple in color and definitely not brown.
I think you got a bad bottle, probably an issue with its closure. It shouldn’t have tasted like Guinness.
Here’s to your next wine being much better… Cheers!
In a blind taste test of Lambrusco, I do not think your review would stand. I started drinking Riunite Lambrusco because it is reliable, consistent, and tastes just fine with a steak dinner. As it is reasonably priced I feel no need to sniff and swirl and critique it (or my company) each time I pour a glass. I’d just like some red wine with the meal that does not compete with the food; just complements it; in that regard Riunite Lambrusco is quite satisfying. It’s essentially a jug wine and should be judged as such. I sometimes drink 100% concord grape juice and would’t consider drinking soda (grape or otherwise). The flavor of Riunite Lambrusco really has nothing to do with either. If that is how it tastes to you, I could not rely on your palate assessing other beverages.
Thanks for commenting and for the review critique, Lois.
While I stand by my review, I appreciate when people disagree with what I’ve said.
All in all, it makes for a better review for the entire community and I thank you for your thoughts.
Cheers!
Jon
I just bought my 1st bottle of Riunite Lambrusco. I bought it because I needed the large bottle and the only other choice I had, at the liquor store, was Mogan David.
I can honestly say that it isn’t the best or worst wine I’ve had. I would never recommend it.
Thanks for commenting Catherine! Honest opinions are always welcome here.
I have been a loyal Riunite Lambrusco drinker for many years. A glass at dinner every night. i will still buy it, however I do have a complaint. You have started making your caps of metal. They are very dangerous. Please see if you can go back to your plastic caps and wraper. I myself have already cut myself twice, and that was on the cap after removing the metal wraper (with a plier). Thank you.
David Thomas age 66.
Hi David… Thanks for visiting and commenting on my website. Sorry to hear about your experience.
Honest Wine Reviews is a wine review website where I review wines from lots of different winemakers. I don’t work for Riunite and this site isn’t affiliated with Riunite. I just happened to review their wine. You might want to contact them directly on their website with your concern. I bet they would like to hear from their customers about any issues with their wines.
Cheers! Jon
Hello, I don’t know if you’ll get this because this was dated about nine years ago. But I grew up tasting wine’s with my family and my dad made us learn how to sniff the aromas and check the bouquet and inhaler the wine before tasting but Riunite was our Sunday night dinner wine, just with our family alone and I still love it today, it takes me home. And it has higher alcohol content, something my parents never realized because drinking was only for special occasions but my sister and I knew a little more than they did, as we 60s and 70s kids, lol. When you have more expensive tastes you might look down on Riunite Lambrusco however, have you ever tried their Blanco Lambrusco? It’s very difficult to find but it’s actually quite lovely in my opinion. No one I knew drank wine except for my best friend and she hated the Riunite Lambrusco but she was only allowed to drink with my family with permission of her parents. I got that girl into so much trouble according to her mom! Her mom about had a heart attack when she caught her wearing jeans coming home from school and she blamed me! And she was wearing makeup too! Oh that girl was going to he!! ! I explained to her mom that we were all adults now being 16 and her little girl was growing up and then I reminded her why she had to get married, lol. She said that’s what I’m trying to prevent and I said you really think making her wear dresses is going to help? We went off to different universities far away from each other and her mom never realized I was keeping her daughter safe because I loved just like my sister. Well she came home and told me a secret and asked me to come talk to her parents with her and I said awe he!! they’re going to blame me and I wasn’t even there! That girl married a millionaire and surprisingly her parents weren’t angry but her mom did blame me but I was their daughter too just like my parents saw my best friend as their daughter. We’ve been best friends for over 47 years and still hates Riunite but remembers those special times but refuses to drink the wine with me but she’s a millionaire and she can afford whatever she wants but I’m not! And we just laugh and laugh over those memories because my family is gone now but I still have hers and I drink her wine when I’m at her home but she won’t drink my Riunite Lambrusco! Lol but one thing I’d like to know is if you stirred the wine? It’s an enriched wine, and has something similar to mother in it, like unfiltered beer and it settles and you need to give it a swirl like you do certain beers and it does make a difference. You don’t have to do that with Blanco Lambrusco, if you’re lucky enough to find it. I’m not sure if they only made it for a limited time but I haven’t been able to find it since I moved away from the only place I ever found it and I’ve been searching for it online. Maybe you can find it and give it a try. It’s much different than the red. A Riunite fan forever
Thanks for the comment and for sharing your story, Jennifer!
I haven’t tried their Blanco Lambrusco, but you’ve certainly peeked my interest.
May you have many more good times with friends and family!
Cheers!
Jon
I have trouble with wine because it tastes like it has alum in it and some of it wood. Nasty. Lambrusco is gentle and fruity with a mild fizz and I can get a little buzz from drinking a glass while making dinner. Not a sophisicate as you can see but Riunite can count on me.
Thank you for reviewing Riunite Lambrusco! It was a family favorite for decades. It complemented all Sunday dinners of veal cutlets, eggplant parm,, or spaghetti with sauce (it wasn’t called ‘pasta’ back then) that my aunt prepared. It was served in small old-fashioned wine glasses and there was always a spare bottle in the fridge. It was a standard at every anniversary, birthday, or holiday party. And even as a small child, I was allowed to have a taste now and then. (I have gravitated to the cabs these days but would be interesting in taking a bottle ‘off your hands’ if interested.) Thank you for bringing back my memories!
Well thank you for the comment Miss Jonelle! Since you are an official tasting assistant you will be the first to hear if Banfi sends any more Riuniti or Lambrusco in my direction!
I have enjoyed your wines, especially Lambrusco Emelia, for many years. I agree wholeheartedly about serving it with ice. It chills it perfectly and I have found that it lasts longer. I would love to know how to make 30.2824 liters for myself each month. The 3 liters bottle was $10.99 each and after I started buying 8, 3 liter bottles monthly the alcohol store raised the price $4.00 per bottle. I would greatly appreciate if you could give me step by step instructions on making the 30.2824 liters per month so I can not have to pay the alcohol stores very high prices.
Thank You very much,
Christopher Allen Simpson