Insiders Guide to Puglia's Wine Regions

Puglia is one of Italy’s southernmost regions located on the heel of the boot.  It’s a narrow region only about 35 miles wide from the Adriatic Sea to the Appennines, but has over 200 miles of coastline.  When it comes to wine it is one of the top largest wine producing regions in Italy alongside Sicily and the Veneto.  It’s also well known for its olive oil production.  It accounts for about half of all of Italy’s olive oil!   

It’s best to understand Puglia by dividing it into 3 subregions: to the north around the Foggia province, the central subregion including the provinces of Bari and Taranto, and the southern subregion with the Brindisi and Lecce subregions.  The Puglia region as a whole is relatively flat filled with plains, except the northern terrain, which is hilly.  It’s dry, sunny and warm climate is influenced by the cool breezes that come in from the sea.  The soils are fertile made up of mostly limestone with sand and red iron soils depending on where you are within the region. 

Northern Puglia 

There isn’t much to speak of in the northern territory of Puglia in the Foggia province.   The one appellation worth noting is the San Severo DOC, which is Puglia’s oldest appellation established in 1968.  A wide range of wines are produced in this DOC and it’s an area that is highly productive.  The reds are primarily based on the Montepulciano grape, while the white wines are based on Bombino Bianco and Trebbiano.  I'll cover more about Puglia’s grapes specifically in a later article this month. 

Central Puglia 

Central Puglia hosts 3 of the 4 DOCG appellations of Puglia under the Castel del Monte name.  Its name means “castle on the mountain”, which is named after the 13th century medieval octogonal fort located up on the hill.  This is also a UNESCO world heritage site as well.  It‘s located on the Murge plateau that has elevations from 600-1,500 feet.  This plateau is known for the trulli that you may have seen in articles written about Puglia.  The trulli are white washed conical stone houses largely populated in Alberobello that have also become a UNESCO world heritage site.   

Trulli in Alberobello

Castel del Monte is also a DOC, but the 3 DOCG are Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva DOCG, which is a blend of the Nero di Troia grape with Montepulciano and Aglianico.  There is also Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva DOCG that is made from a minimum of 90% Nero di Troia.  Lastly, the Castel del Monte Bombino Nero DOCG is a rose made from the rediscovered grape Bombino Nero. 

Castel del Monte

A couple other appellations in the central section of Puglia to note is the Gioia delle Colle DOC.  Meaning the “jewels of the hills”, this area is located south of Bari and is considered the original home of Primitivo.  It’s dry and hot with some elevation that allow for some cooler temperatures.  In comparing Primitivo from Gioia delle Colle to Primitivo di Manduria in the south that we’ll be covering, the Primitivo from this area tends to be more elegant.  The soils here are also limestone and red based.   

The Moscato di Trani DOC is named after the town of Trani where the vineyards are located.  The wines here are a sweeter style based on the Moscato Bianco grape.  In the Itria Valley there are two appellations, Locorotondo DOC and Martina Franca DOC, both appellations produce white blends from Verdeca and Bianco d’Alessano.   

Southern Puglia 

Southern Puglia has a couple of the appellations that you’ll see the most in the market, Salice Salentino DOC and Primitivo di Manduria DOCG. Both these regions cover two of the most popular grapes of Puglia, Primitivo and Negroamaro. The Salice Salentino DOC is located on the heel of the boot on the Salento peninsula. The wines here are primarily made from Negroamaro, a full-bodied, ripe fruit driven wine with some spice.  

Primitivo di Manduria is a territory that occupies the plains around the town of Taranto out to the coast to the Gulf of Taranto. It has both a DOC and DOCG designation and was the first DOCG in Puglia in 2011. Primitivo is the star grape of this area, which is the same a the Zinfandel grape you’re most familiar with. It is said that Primitivo originated from Croatia. The wines in the Primitivo di Manduria DOCG are produced from overripened grapes in sweet style or in the appassimento style made from Primitivo grapes where those from the DOC are produced as a dry wine.  

Another area noteworthy in southern Puglia is the Copertino DOC named after the town in which it is grown, Copertino. This area borders the Salice Salentino area and also grows Negroamaro as well. A few others to be familiar with are Brindisi DOC, Squinzano DOC and Lizzano DOC.  

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*Pictures sourced from the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Castel del Monte DOC

A Rare Puglian Grape - Susumaniello

As we creep in February it’s time to venture off the island of Sicily into the region of Puglia this month.  Our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group this month is hosted by Lynn of Savor the Harvest.  If you’re not familiar with Puglia, also called Apulia, it is located on the heel of the boot along the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Gulf of Taranto at the tip of the heel.  The region is relatively flat filled with plains and low hills except the mountainous area to the north that is home to the Gargano headlands and Monti Dauni.   

Puglia along with Sicily is one of the top wine producing regions in Italy in terms of production.  Much of its wine history is known for bulk wines for blending, but as with many other regions in Italy a number of producers have decided to invest and focus on quality.  This is a region mostly dominated by reds, like the interesting and rare grape I’m sharing today, Susumaniello. 

I don’t frequent Trader Joe’s too frequently, but when I do, I always love to check out their wine section.  Although the limited number of wines I’ve tried aren’t mind blowing, their price to quality ratio is worth it.  I’ve found it challenging to locate information on the wineries though, which is one of the things I always love to discover and learn about.  The same goes for the bottle today, which comes from the Ruggero di Bardo winery. 

The Grape ~ Susumaniello 

If you are a consumer that loves to find the rare, obscure grapes, then Susumaniello is for you.  This is an ancient grape that was being abandoned in the early 1990’s due to its low yields and producers at the time focused on producing quantity.  It is grown mostly in the Brindisi province as well as Salice Salento.  You can find it made as a still red or rose as well produced in a blend with Negroamaro or on its own.   

The name Susumaniello is derived from the word somarello, which is dialect meaning black donkey.  I’m assuming this comes from the blackness of the grape and/or the deep colors that it produces in the glass rich in anthocyanins.  The grape clusters are packed in with an abundance of grapes.  The characteristics in the wines that are produced from this grape are typically plums or red berries that may have notes of spice, pepper or chocolate.   

A producer in Puglia known for bringing this grape life along with others is Tenute Rubino.  On their site they call Susumaniello the “soul of Salento”.  Luigi Rubino started working with this grape when others were abandoning it.  He has close to 50 acres dedicated to this grape on the shores of the Adriatic Sea at his Jaddico estate where the vines are trained with the alberello vine training system.  I have yet to try his version of this grape, or at least from what I can remember, but I look forward to it.  

The Wine 

The 2020 Ruggero di Bardo Susumaniello has a uniquely shaped bottle, short and stout. Deeply ruby colored with purple hues. On the nose are raspberries, dark cherry, plum with slightly toasty and cedar aromas. A solid medium bodied wine leaning towards full-bodied. Decent acidity with a hint of tannin. Lush flavors of mostly dark cherries and raspberries with some oak and vanilla on the finish, which wasn’t too lengthy. Overall, it’s a privilege to be able to try such an obsure grape. Not a bottle I would rush to purchase, but at around $10 a bottle it’s well worth trying. ABV 14.5% 

Have you had the opportunity to try a Susumaniello? I’d love to hear about it. 

Join the rest of our Italian wine and food lovers as they share their personal picks from Puglia.

Camilla at Culinary Cam sharing “Killer Pairing: Spaghetti all'Assassina + A Negroamaro from Brindisi”

Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog sharing “An Unconventional Style of Primitivo - 2020 Produttori Di Manduria Electric Bee Primitivo”

Susannah from Avvinare tells us about “Primitivo from Gioia del Colle, A Revelation”

Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “A Family Tradition: Domus Hortae’s organic wines from the heel of Italy”

Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm sharing “Octopus with Polenta and a Rosato from Puglia inspired by The Food Club”

Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles reveals “Salice Salentino from Puglia with Ciceri e tria”

Katarina at Grapevine Adventures shares "Borgo Turrito Focuses on Nero di Troia in Puglia"

Lynn at Savor the Harvest discusses “Negroamaro - Three Styles from Puglia + Food Pairings”

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Importer: D’Aquino Italian Imports