Amordivino Wines
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Puglia

Population: 4.090.068
Surface (Kmq): 19362
Density (Inhabitants/Kmq.): 211
Main city: Bari (BA)
Other towns: Brindisi (BR); Foggia (FG); Lecce (LE); Taranto (TA).

Puglia (or Apulia) forms the heel of the boot of Italy and has a long coastline, facing the Ionian and the Adriatic Seas. The region is essentially a flatland with wide arid expanses, terraces and table-lands poor in water. The coastal areas are essentially high and, in the Gargano district, plunge steep into the sea; in other areas, they are sandy or rocky, but usually flat. Puglia boasts one excellent archeological museum, a host of cathedrals dating back to the 10th century, several highly atmospheric Greek and Roman ruins, a gleaming necklace of lively fishing villages, one of Europe's largest forests, a chain of medieval hill towns, and some of the very cleanest beaches and water in the Mediterranean. It also has its own subspecies of architecture, called barocco leccese. Characterised by extremely ornate carvings that cover the entire surface of churches and palazzi, its apex is reached in the delightful little city of Lecce.


Apulia produces more wine than any other Italian region usually making up around 17% of the national total. It also competes with Sicily for first place as grape producer. For a long time much of the wine made here was shipped north to Turin were it was used to make Vermouth, or to France where it was used to give structure to French wines when the local harvest was either poor or insufficient.
In recent years, Pugliese vintners have changed their views and tastes and are pursuing wines that effectively balance sweetness, acid, alcohol content and density.

Apulia counts 25 DOC wines including the Primitivo di Manduria, a red named after the grape with the same name that a California researcher, Carole Meredith, proved to have the same DNA as the American Zinfandel, the appreciated and prize-winning California Grape. The Accademia dei Racemi, an association that brings together vintners, agronomists and oenologists is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the quality of wine production in the region. Under the leadership of Mr. Gregory Polucci, it produces an excellent Primitivo and is experimenting with Zinfandel grapes imported from the USA.

A special mention should be made of Salice Salentino, a powerful red produced in the Lecce province. It is made primarily with Negroamaro and has gained an enthusiastic following abroad because of the excellent ratio quality-price.

Puglia has long seen a prevalence of co-operative wine production. As both Italian and European community subsidies for co-op wineries have almost completely dried up, these large establishments and their grape-grower members are facing the choice of either changing their politics or risking annihilation. This is probably best for wine connoisseurs, as many co-ops have already scaled back production in order to focus on quality, branded, bottled wines.

The DOC wines from Puglia are:
Aleatico di Puglia  
Alezio  
Brindisi  
Cacc'e mmitte di Lucera  
Castel del Monte  
Copertino  
Galatina  
Gioia del Colle  
Gravina  
Leverano  
Lizzano  
Locorotondo  
Martina o Martina Franca  
Matino  
Moscato di Trani  
Nardò  
Orta Nuova  
Ostuni  
Primitivo di Manduria  
Rosso Barletta  
Rosso Canosa  
Rosso di Cerignola  
Salice Salentino  
San Severo  
Squinzano