Remember Lambrusco? In the 1970s and 1980s, the Italian sparkling red wine was highly popular in the U.S., though it got little respect from oenophiles. The reason had to do with its sheer sweetness — it was less a wine and more like a carbonated wine cooler, a drink that was more akin to, say, cherry soda than a quality Italian sip.

But these days, Lambrusco is finding its way back onto the shelves of wine stores. In particular, it is coming from producers that aim to showcase the style, which is produced primarily from varieties of the Lambrusco grape, in a different and often drier light.