Wine region: Italy, Puglia

Puglia has 25 DOC zones, the most of any southern region, yet, like its neighbours, it produces a small percentage of classified wine (just over 2%). Despite rapid improvement, Puglian wines have yet to establish a clear-cut reputation for excellence, though they are widely appreciated for value abroad.

Puglia can be divided roughly into two viticultural sectors by a hypothetical line crossing the region between Brindisi and Taranto. To the north, the terrain is rolling to hilly and the climate is temperate, even relatively cool at certain heights in the Murge plateau. Dry wines from there tend to have moderate strength, with impressive fruit, good acidity and ample bouquet.

Red wines generally derive from the native Uva di Troia or Bombino Nero, as well as Montepulciano and Sangiovese. White wines are dominated by the Verdeca variety, though Bianco d’Alessano, Malvasia, Trebbiano and Bombino Bianco are also evident.

The leading DOC zone of northern Puglia is Castel del Monte, the one appellation that enjoys an international reputation. It has a fine rosé and a full-bodied red that can be good young but often gains stature with age. In much of the north the emphasis is on red wines under such DOCs as Rosso Canosa, Rosso Barletta and Rosso di Cerignola. Just north of the Brindisi-Taranto line white wines dominate, in particular those of the Itria valley, Locorotondo and Martina Franca, home of the conical roofed stone houses known as trulli. Throughout the region experimentation is under way with international varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon among the whites; Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec and Pinot Nero among the reds.

“A thirsty land where the sun turns into wine” wrote Dante Alighieri neatly, alluding to Apulia. The region’s wine growing tradition is ancient dating back to before the contact with the Phoenician traders. Apulian wines were acclaimed by Greeks and Romans alike, and, although there are faint echoes of the quality that made these wines once so sought after, mass production has somewhat diminished Puglia’s reputation as wine-producing region. The Uva di Troia, legend has it, were brought to Apulia by Diomedes. Having journeyed up the Ofanto river, the exiled hero anchored his ship with a number of stones he’d brought with him from the city of Troy. He used these as markers to delineate the territory of the Diomedean fields. The Greek prince has also brought with him vine shoots, which he planted along the Ofanto, giving birth to Uva di Troia, or Trojan grapes. This legend has contributed to the creation of many different names for this grape variety, whose aliases include Uva di Canosa, Barletanna, Nero di Troia, Troiano, Uva di Barletta and Uva della Marina. (With thanks to Mario Busso)

The grape is currently grown in the province between Bari and Barletta and along the Apulian coastline. Today Nero di Troia is a supple wine bursting with fresh aromas of violets, black berries and hints of star anise. On the palate it has good acidity and tannins that are lively but never astringent and allow a certain ageing potential. San Domenico and Zagaria, the two estates that make up the Azienda Agricola del Conte Spagnoletti Zeuli, occupy some 400 hectares in the countryside of Andria, in the province of Bari. While most of the land is dedicated to olive groves, the slopes of the outlying hills are planted with rows of Bombino Nero, Montepulciano and Nero di Troia.

South of the Brindisi-Taranto line lies Salento, a flat peninsula that extends between the Adriatic and Ionian seas to the easternmost point of Italy. Though hot, it is not quite torrid, thanks to the play of sea currents and the breezes that waft across the Adriatic from the Balkans.

Salento’s traditional wines were the powerful, inky reds from Primitivo, Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera. But increasing attention is being given to fresher reds and rosés, as well as to some unexpectedly bright and fruity white wines. Primitvo di Manduria, the early ripening variety of Salento is related to California’s Zinfandel. Though it once served primarily as a blending wine, Primitivo from a new wave of producers has shown undeniable class in a style that stands comparison with its American counterparts.

Local viticulture in this area has a long tradition: excavations carried out in the archaeological site of Monte Sannace (to the north-east of Gioia del Colle) revealed an extensive Peucetian settlement (VIII-III cent. BC) and led to the recovery of numerous pieces of pottery for containing wine and olive oil. The territory is rich in historic tradition: as well as the aforementioned site of Monte Sannace there is the Norman-Swabian Castle, the cathedral and not far away the Grotte of Castellana, the Sassi of Matera and the Trulli of the Valle d’Itria – more cultural history than you could shake a considerable stick at.

The geological history is no less fascinating. Once upon a time between the cretaceous plate of the Bari area and the Southern Apennines, the saddle of Spinazzola formed a broad strait that linked the Ionian Sea to the Adriatic, where the today’s territory of Gioia del Colle was submerged (as evidenced by the discovery of marine fossils in the local soils). The typical Murgian hill soil is a mix of clay and limestone, rocky and packed with minerals. Thin layers of red earth mixed with limestone and silica sit on huge fossil-rich monolithic reefs confirming the origin of this land and the name of the locality Spinomarino recalls its original shape: coastal prominence in the strait of sea which submerged the low surrounding lands.

The region has a marked agricultural inclination with notable cultivations of vineyards, almond and olive groves, cherry and plum orchards. The hilly terrain confer to these lands optimum climatic conditions for viticulture, by way of a right microclimatic balance of sun, winds and mild temperatures.

At the end of the 18th century Nicola Petrera, an ancestor of the current owner, chose the Spinomarino hill, the most aired and sunny one in the Gaudella area, to grow Primitivo grapes. Filippo Petrera has preserved both tradition and passion for this Primitivo until this very day. The family ensures the greatest care in every detail: organic farming, grape selection, processing and bottling. The family processes only their own estate grown grapes under the brand name “Fatalone”, with a total production of 40,000 bottles per 6 hectares of vineyards. The vinification process takes place in open-cycle wine tanks, without the aid of yeasts, with frequent pumping of the must over the pomace. The must is kept in contact with grape skins for three to five days at a temp. of 28°C; a gentle pressing and a slow fermentation then completes the process.

Among the many DOCs of Salento, Salice Salentino stands out for its robust red and refined rosé, though wines from such appellations as Squinzano, Brindisi, Alezio and Copertino can show unexpected class. The Salento IGT applies to red wines that often carry individual names. White wines also show promise, Chardonnay in particular, though Salento is also renowned for flowery rosés that rank with Italy’s finest.

Olive trees thrive nearly everywhere in Apulia, whose production of more than 200 million liters a year accounts for nearly half of Italy’s total volume of oil. Four types have been singled out for DOP: Colline di Brindisi, Dauno, Terra di Bari and Terra di Otranto. The region is also an important source of organic produce, accounting for about 10 percent of the nation’s total.
Pasta, from the region’s supplies of durum wheat, range through variations on maccheroni, spaghetti and lasagne to the small shells called orecchiette (or strascinati) and cavatieddi, served mainly with vegetables or tomato sauces, usually with garlic and peppers. Rice is also esteemed, notably in tiella, which refers to an earthenware baking dish, though the name may have derived from the Spanish rice dish of paella. Tortiera is a casserole, whose various ingredients are gratinéed with pecorino or caciocavallo or pane grattugiato, breadcrumbs which substitute for cheese in many southern dishes.

The Adriatic and Ionian seas provide a wealth of seafood and frutti di mare. Especially prized are oysters and mussels from beds in the Gulf of Taranto, though the range includes octopus, cuttlefish, squid, anchovies, sardines and sea urchins.

The Murge plateaux provide grazing land for lamb and kid, the preferred meats, though the diet is enhanced by beef and poultry and pork as the base of an ample array of salumi. Cheeses cover the southern gamut of pecorino and pasta filata varieties, though among the latter burrata (whose name refers to the buttery softness of its cream-filled interior) stands out from the towns of Andria and Martina Franca. The hard cheese called Canestrato Pugliese, named after the canestre or reed baskets in which it was formed, is protected by DOP. Part of the Caciocavallo Silano DOP is in Apulia.

Apulian bakers specialize in the flat focaccia (or puddica) and variations of pizza from both wheat flour and potatoes. These include calzoni, calzuncieddi, panzerotti and sfogliate, in which the dough is folded over a filling and fried or baked. Biscuits are also popular, especially the doughnut shaped frisedde and the curly taralli. A rich array of pastries and sweets is enhanced by such ingredients as ricotta, almonds for marzipan, candied fruit and honey.