Kissed by the sun and bathed by the sea, the Apulia is the perfect region for growing vines. Viticulture has been practised in Apulia since ancient times and dates back to the period of greatest Phoenician and Greek expansion. Today, the region of Apulia is one of the largest and most important wine producers in Italy. It produces various types of wine, but mainly red and rosé wines made from grapes Primitivo e Negroamaro, the two most important grape varieties in the region. So let us discover and find out together the differences and similarities in the two main grape varieties from which the best Apulian wines are produced.
PRIMITIVE
Primitivo is one of the most famous red grape varieties in southern Italy, as well as being one of the most important grape varieties for viticulture and oenology in Apulia. Its curious name is probably due to the plant's characteristic vegetative phases, all early, from ripening to budding, from flowering to veraison. The vine is harvested as early as the end of August. Nowadays, Primitivo is mainly cultivated in the area of Manduria, in the province of Taranto, from which the DOC Primitivo di Manduria and the naturally sweet Primitivo di Manduria DOCG, and in Barese, in the Gioia del Colle area.
Primitivo bears an uncanny resemblance to the Californian grape variety Zinfandel. In fact, it is a globetrotting grape variety. We find it across the Atlantic, in the United States. In California it is one of the oldest imported varieties, cultivated since 1860 under the name of Zinfandel, a name unknown in Europe. It is one of the most important grape varieties in the United States, used mainly for fine red and rosé wines. For many years, Primitivo was used as a 'blending' wine to fortify northern Italian wines, due to its naturally high alcohol content, intense colour and structure. Today, however, Primitivo is increasingly being vinified as a pure wine. Over the last 20 years, a greater awareness of Primitivo's potential has developed among Apulian producers, and thanks to the important work of winegrowers, it has been possible to valorise this intense and powerful red wine of great elegance and finesse.
Today's primitivo is a robust, well-structured wine with good identity aromas, velvety palates and good longevity. It is a wine that both men and women enjoy because of its soft, full, warm, sweet and elegant taste.
NEGROAMARO
Also The Negroamaro is a very important grape variety in southern Italy, thanks to its great organoleptic qualities in purity and value for money. This Apulian wine has been highly appreciated not only in Italy but also abroad for more than 10 years now. The vine's name derives from the local Salento dialect and, specifically, from 'Niuru Maru' meaning 'bitter black', a reference to the intense colour of Negroamaro and slightly bitter taste. The grape variety is produced in the Salento region, in the Apulian areas of Taranto, Brindisi and Lecce.
Negroamaro is used to produce numerous Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) and Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) wines. Perhaps the best known is Salice Salentino DOC, the most representative wine of southern Apulia and produced with Negroamaro and a small percentage of Malvasia Nera. For Negroamaro, the harvest starts around the second ten days of September.
Like Primitivo, Negroamaro was in the past only used to cut some northern wines due to its high sugar content and intense colour and was never used pure. In the last 10 years, however, this trend has come to a halt. Producers in the Salento peninsula, known as the 'heel of Italy', have started to produce Negroamaro in purity, creating a product with an unmistakable aroma, velvety tannins, with depth and nuances and which is increasingly appreciated by both domestic and foreign markets.
To learn more about the best Apulian wines made from Primitivo and Negroamaro grapes, I recommend tasting the following wines:
A well-structured red wine with a robust sip, capable of narrating the intensity of a grape variety that from a simple blending grape has become one of the most appreciated on the international wine scene. It has a very elegant red colour. Intense bouquet, with fruity hints of ripe plums, cherry jam and hints of cocoa, slightly spicy with a finish that gives notes of vanilla. Soft and rich taste with ripe tannins. See full sheet
Deep ruby red colour with garnet hues Enveloping aromas of plum, cherry and ripe plum, accompanied by hints of thyme, tobacco and liquorice Full and balanced palate, with generous warmth, tempered by velvety tannins and juicy freshness. Long and consistent finish. See full sheet
The cellar's most representative wine, capable like no other of combining elegance and concentration in a continuous chase between acidity and warmth. Ample and generous, "l'Es" is the result of a careful selection of grapes picked after a light drying on the vine, vinified in steel and left to mature for nine months in first and second passage barriques. See full sheet
Wine icon of a philosophy of thought and work. Sessantanni Primitivo di Manduria DOP is the label that changed the perception of Apulian wines in the world. It is made from grapes from old vines that are at least sixty years old and bush-trained, a traditional Apulian system. Genius loci, expression and pride of our history. See full sheet
Roccamora Negramaro Nardò DOC is a red wine produced from 100% Negroamaro grapes by the Schola Sarmenti winery. The average age of the vines from which these grapes come is 20 years and they are grown using the Guyot system. The grapes are harvested by hand and delicately placed in small ventilated boxes to preserve their integrity. See full sheet
Cantele's Teresa Manara is a great barricaded wine made from pure Negroamaro grapes. It has an intense ruby red colour variegated with faint black cherry highlights. The nose expresses a bouquet with aromas of fruit and red flowers. On the palate the wine is warm and soft. See full sheet
Three vineyards, a letter on the wood to identify them. "F" for Feudi di San Marzano, a name integral to our history. It is a very ancient grape variety, Negroamaro. In this expression it becomes particularly velvety and elegant, fleshy and prone to ageing. See full sheet
