Puglia Flashcards
Puglia
Second highest volume producer, mostly bulk, but a growth in quality produce. Interest in quality IGT from this region. Hot maritime climate. Negroamaro and Primitivo (Zinfandel) both produce full-bodied reds with high alcohol and spicy berry characters.
Salice Salentino DOC and Copertino DOC
Negrwomaro with some Malvasia Nera, intense, almost port-like.
Primitivo del Manduria
Primitivo grown near the town of Manduria on the western side of the Salento peninsula.
Puglia
Italian name for what is known by English speakers as Apulia, the long (350 km/210 mile) and fertile region on the ‘heel’ of Italy (see map under italy) which has long been of major importance for the production of wine and table grapes. A mediterranean climate and a predominance of soils well suited to grape-growing (a calcareous base from the Cretaceous era overlain by topsoils rich in iron oxide from the Tertiary and Quaternary eras) have created an ideal viticultural environment. Its name derives from the Roman a-pluvia or ‘lack of rain’. Total vineyard area in 2012 was 107,000 ha/250,000 acres, of which a decreasing 60,000 ha is dedicated to basic table wine, and 24,000 ha to growing table grapes. Puglia rivals Sicily as Italy’s second most productive wine region, well behind Veneto. Many growers have taken subsidies from the eu to grub up their vineyards but, unfortunately, many of these were of low-yielding bush vines, while many remaining vines tend to be high-cropping inferior varieties planted on fertile soils. While much of Puglia’s viticulture is still focused on bulk wine for blending, a reduction in compulsory distillation to drain the EU wine lake has forced producers to adopt a more market-oriented approach. Cue international varieties, especially Chardonnay and Merlot, each of which were planted on about 1,000 ha by 2010. Although both varieties are allowed in several of Puglia’s 32 dOCs and dOCGs, most are unremarkable and sold in bulk to large bottlers in the north to satisfy international supermarket demand. Sangiovese, with 12,500 ha, is Puglia’s most planted variety, and together with the lacklustre but equally high-yielding trebbiano Toscano, constitutes much of the wine shipped in bulk, with hardly any plantings registered as DOC. More local varieties such as primitivo, negroamaro, and nero di troia are slowly finding their way into DOC and igt wines rather than the most basic table wine. While grape growers, as opposed to wine producers, are the norm here, with co-operatives responsible for most winemaking, many have begun to bottle at least part of their production in order to compensate for plummeting bulk wine prices. Few of these first-timers have knowledge of or formal training in winemaking, which explains what is often very modest quality. Puglia’s propensity for bulk wine production combined with excessively high yields even at DOC level, has tended to overshadow its unique wine styles based on indigenous varieties. In the north between Foggia and Bari Nero di Troia produces tannic, full-bodied reds under the Castel del Monte DOC. Confusingly, both Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva and Castel del Monte Bombino Nero Rosato have been elevated to DOCG status, although the latter is of only marginal importance. In the centre, between Bari and Matera, Primitivo is responsible for some of Puglia’s most popular wines, dark, rich, and often marketed as IGT, although the best wines tend to be sold as DOC Gioia del Colle with its tangy acidity and DOC Primitivo di Manduria grown further south between Brindisi and Taranto and generally richer, although wines tend to be determined by winemaking rather than terroir. The Salento peninsula, the heel of the boot, is home to Negroamaro. When grown on bush vines in the narrow Salento peninsula, where the proximity of both the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas brings a welcome night-time cooling, it can produce rich, spicy wines of considerable interest. Puglia’s biggest challenge is to reinvent itself as quality wine producer rather than bulk wine supplier. Unfortunately, because most of its production is either bulk or IGT, there are very few producer associations to help market the higher quality wines. Puglia’s very few Consorzios, which may be formed only at DOC level, are practically defunct. What Puglia urgently needs is to ensure the survival of its centenarian bush vines and most interesting indigenous varieties, and, ideally, a viticultural and winemaking institute identical to san michele all’adige to help shape its future.
Salice Salentino
DOC for robust red wine made mainly from negroamaro grapes in south east Italy. The DOC Salice Salentino Bianco was created for Chardonnay-based whites, although the variety has no history nor much adaptability here. For more details
Copertino
DOC for robust red wine made mainly from negroamaro grapes on relatively flat terrain in south east Italy. For more details, see puglia. The co-operative winery of Copertino has begun identifying superior vineyard sites within the DOC
Bombino Bianco
Was planted on 1,229 ha/3,036 acres of southern Italy, mainly in puglia, in 2010. In abruzzo it is regularly confused with, and may even be identical to, trebbiano d’Abruzzo. It ripens late and yields extremely high quantities of relatively neutral wine. Some of its synonyms, Pagedebit (‘it pays the debts’) and Straccia Cambiale (‘tear up the invoices’) in particular, allude to its profitability to the vine-grower. The dark-berried Puglian Bombino Nero, planted on almost as much vineyard, may well be related.
Puglia: History
Puglian wines were praised for their quality in Roman times.
Biggest producer in Italy but culture of overproduction and low quality bulk.
Since 2000s: external investment to modernise winemaking techniques (refrigeration and stainless steel) and flying winemakers contributed to a regeneration of the area
Puglia: Climate and Weather
Mediterranean climate w long summer months & rainfall only in winter months. Little annual variation.
Puglia: Topography and Soils
South of Abruzzi along the Adriatic coast w 70% of vineyards in the flat fertile coastal plains w some rolling hills
Calcareous soil base
Puglia: Negromaro
Most planted in Puglia & 6th most planted red in Italy
Vigorous & hi yielding w a preference for calcareous and limey soils
Ripens later vs. Primitivo
Dark, thick-skinned berries that produce hi alcohol, full bodied, tannic reds with spicy berry aromas & an earthy bitterness (‘amaro’)
Blended w Malvasia Nera e.g. Salice Salentino
Victim of the EU vine pull scheme in the 1990s
Puglia: Primitivo
Early ripening grape
Produces full bodied reds w spicy berry characters
Grown principally in Puglia; victim of 90s EU vine pull scheme
Puglia: Malvasia Nera
Dark version of Malvasia bianco
Usually used in blends to add perfume
Puglia: Other Red Grape Varieties
Uva di Troia (aromatic premium grape variety), Sangiovese, Montepulciano
Puglia: Bombino bianco
Late ripening, hi yielding white grape that produces relatively neutral wines
Found in 8 Puglian DOCs
