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ITALY
– DISCOVERY –
Although Primitivo (Zinfandel), Negroamaro
and Nero di Troia are the varieties which
most frequently represent the region in the
domestic and international markets, the range
of Puglian grapes is in fact much broader and
includes native grape varieties such as the lesser known
Bombino Nero, Malvasia Nera, Aleatico, Sussumaniello
and Ottavianello (Cinsaut), as well as Montepulciano,
Sangiovese and Aglianico and international cultivars
Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon. White grapes from
the region include Bombino Bianco, Malvasia Bianca,
Verdeca, Bianco d’Alessano and Pampanuto, as well as
Fiano, Moscato Bianco and Chardonnay.
The Puglia wine region is divided between hills and plains.
Starting in the north, the Gargano area is a promontory
of limestone and eruptive rocks, with slopes clad in
Mediterranean scrub. Heading south you encounter
the Tavoliere area, in the province of Foggia, with its
sandy-clay alluvial soils. This is followed by Murgia, a
very extensive area with soils of limestone agglomerates,
which extends across the provinces of Barletta-Andria-
Trani, Bari and Brindisi. Lastly is Salento, a very fertile,
cool zone with limestone soils, located in the province of
Lecce and partly extending into Brindisi and Taranto. The
total area under vine is approximately 85,000 hectares,
some 75% planted to red grape varieties.
Amastuola’s vineyards are located in Valle d’Itria heading towards the sea,
around the Arco Ionico area
FROM BLENDING WINES TO QUALITY
BOTTLINGS
The real revolution in Puglian wine, however, cannot be
expressed in numbers, but in the work of forward-thinking
producers who have moved beyond the principles of
quantity and deeply-coloured, structured wines (a legacy
of the era when Puglian wines were considered to be
blending wines) to embrace a more sensitive approach
to the region through the use of typical vines and longstanding
training systems. This includes the use of the
‘Alberello’ system, which has been used for thousands
of years and features in the writings of the Roman
authors Pliny the Elder, Horace and Tibullus. Puglia has
always been a very important supplier of wine and oil,
producing products strongly linked to its tradition and
culture which, today, are finally getting the recognition
they deserve.
The wine cellar at Conti Zecca, located in Leverano. Founded in the 1930s,
Conti Zecca is one of Puglia’s longstanding wine producers
WINTER 2021 GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE 91