Indigenous grape varieties in Puglia

Mosaic of a centuries-old heritage

Wine is in the DNA of our communities, the historical support for the regional economy and today the stronghold of Puglian exports worldwide.
Muggy climate in the summer months, mild for the rest of the year. Enviable natural climatic conditions and a spontaneous vocation for wine production trace the path of a tradition dating back to the Hellenic and Roman dominations.

Primitivo: the first one

First and foremost, Primitivo is the red grape variety that is the symbol of Puglia’s oenological heritage, thanks to products such as Sessantanni Primitivo di Manduria DOP. This is an icon of the rebirth of an appellation that is now recognised and appreciated throughout the world.
Every grape variety has a story to tell, but only a few tell such ancient tales. This unmistakable variety even has roots in the maritime trade of the Illyrians, a people from the Balkan region who were dedicated to the cultivation of vines, and the Phoenicians, ancient visitors to our Puglian coast.
The grapes, with an elongated cylindrical-conical shape, are medium to medium-small in size. The skin, which is extremely rich in anthocyanins and bloom, is a dark but intense blue.
The cultivation of Primitivo par excellence is the traditional alberello system (head-trained bush vine), typical of Mediterranean culture and of Greek origin.
This fascinating and ancient method of cultivation offers at least three fundamental advantages: it favours the ripening of the grapes by using the warmth of the earth, reduces the yield by concentrating the extract from each grape, and protects the vines from sunlight thanks to the thick foliage.
Older vines, such as the Sessantanni, take on archaic and bizarre shapes, offering the wooden spectacle of a living sculpture.
However, the low yield in terms of quantity and the impossibility of mechanising harvesting operations, which are necessarily carried out by hand bunch by bunch, has in the past caused a progressive and inexorable abandonment of this form of cultivation, which has fortunately been preserved and is now being re-evaluated by some tenacious growers.
A true cultural and historical heritage that needs to be protected.
And again, from the same Primitivo grapes, the first rosé productions probably date back to the 7th/6th century BC.
It was the Greek colonists who taught the Salento farmers how to make these wines using the ‘a lacrima’ system, a production technique consisting of gently crushing black grapes collected in sacks. With the ‘Lagrima Salentina’, the first successful generation of Puglian rosé wines was born. The first stage of an oenological journey that leads us to the modern Tramari Rosé di Primitivo Salento IGP, proud heir to a romance.

Negroamaro: genealogy of a success story

Another grape variety that can boast a centuries-old geneaology is Negroamaro. Once used as one of many grape varieties blended in other red wines, due to its pronounced tannin and unmistakable acidic note, it has now been used on its own for several years.
A wild nature that San Marzano has been able to tame, making it a modern and elegant wine. This result is the fruit of long labour in the vineyard and in the cellar, which has made F Negroamaro Salento IGP a true seal of quality for this variety.
Powerful, full-bodied wines from Negroamaro grapes. There is much evidence of their appreciation in history, from the occupation of Salento by Roman legionaries to the first exports to the world at the time of the Indies Company.
Sometimes written negro amaro, nero amaro, negramaro and nigramaro, it owes its name to the meeting of two words, one Latin and the other Greek. Niger and Mavros, both of which indicate the black colour, characteristic of both the wine and berry’s skin. The repetition of the adjective is believed to have originally been a reinforcement, similar to ‘nerissimo’, and is another clear reference to the Greco-Roman origins of this typical Salento variety. Another interpretation recognises its origin in the dialectal expression niuru-maru, referring to the two typical characteristics of the variety: a black berry and a pleasant bitter taste, emanating from the rich tannin. Ancient origins for a successful and timeless wine.

Great reds, but not only

In addition to these symbolic varieties on the Puglian wine scene, there are several so-called minor varieties.
Varieties that are sometimes at risk of extinction are studied, experimented and made into wine at San Marzano too, in the awareness of their role as ambassadors of the region’s great varietal heritage.
This is the case with Moscatello Selvatico, one of the indigenous grape varieties that each year compete to complement the blend of Edda Bianco Salento IGP, a great white wine from Puglia that has become a symbol of the Baroque cultural heritage that is still alive in local customs. The indigenous Moscatello variety used to grow wild on the edges of the vineyard rows and was considered a marginal grape. Remarkable, however, is its unique way of imparting authentic and intense aromas.
Verdeca, a white grape variety that is made as a monovarietal wine in San Marzano, offers the market a mineral wine with a good structure, Talò Verdeca Puglia IGP.
Malvasia Nera, whose rows often alternate with the more numerous Negroamaro to give life to the classic Salice Salentino DOP. In addition to Salice, at San Marzano the choice was made to make Malvasia Nera as a monovarietal wine, a bold choice rewarded by a result much loved for its notes of red fruits and gentle spices.
Another interesting member of the Malvasia family, Malvasia Bianca, was also the subject of a great deal of attention and dedication. Among the 18 varieties listed in the Italian National Register, Malvasia bianca is typically identified with the Puglian territory.
Either alone or blended with other varieties, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon, it provides excellent structure, strong acidity and the ability to evolve for several years. Used in Il Pumo Malvasia Sauvignon Salento IGP, in a balanced blend with Sauvignon, it is perfect to pair with Salento’s seafood cuisine.
Among the typical white wines from Puglia, there are also some unexpected varieties. A white grape variety from the South, Fiano, a grape much appreciated by the Romans… and by bees! Attracted by the sweetness of its berries, hence according to some its ancient name: uva apiana (bees= api).
Despite its origin in Avellino, the vine has been cultivated in Puglia since at least the period of Angevin rule. In fact, it is reported that Charles II of Anjou had sixteen thousand Fiano vines sent from Cava dei Tirreni to his estate in Manfredonia.
Used for the production of fine white wines, such as Talò Fiano Salento IGP San Marzano.

Vermentino and Susumaniello: two grape varieties, two stories.

Ancient oenological traditions and varietal etymologies can only lead us to the origins of another magnificent white grape variety: Vermentino. There are those who support the arguments that it originated in Spain and those who claim it came from Anatolia. What we are certain of is that since it was introduced in Puglia, presumably from the 14th century, the local wine heritage has acquired a new player of immeasurable value. Between the Ionian Sea and the rocky coast of Taranto comes Timo, a Vermentino made as a monovarietal wine from San Marzano and refined for 5 months in steel. Fresh and fragrant, it brings together all the suggestions from the Macchia Mediterranea.
San Marzano has demonstrated its ability to exploit this Puglian territory with skill and inventiveness in a fusion of passion and age-old traditions. This was also the case with the latest addition to the family: Susco Susumaniello Salento IGP.
An ancient Salento black grape variety, Susumaniello has a range of hidden qualities that have enabled it to enjoy a new season of success. More and more consumers and enthusiasts are becoming fascinated by this typical Puglian variety for the first time.
Relegated for decades to a secondary role in the panorama of Puglian red wines because of [its characteristic abundance in its youth], so much so that it charged the ‘somarello’ (hence the name of the vine), it was long considered a mass-produced, table wine.
However, when it matures, the plant spontaneously reduces its yield, grows less fruit and produces wines with a marked acidic note, lively ruby red reflections and tannins that make it naturally predisposed to ageing. A range of unexpected merits that have stripped it away from its destiny as a blending and table wine, giving rise to an oenological reappraisal that in Susco reaches a peak of fragrance and quality. In Salento dialect, susco means “shy”, with a withdrawn character. Name to indicate the reluctance of the mature plant to produce in abundance and useful to describe the difficulties in approaching it as a source of raw material.
Puglia, a long strip of land sandwiched between two seas. Panorama of places and vineyards that bear witness to the history of this region.
At San Marzano, each vineyard has written a chapter of the story we have tried to anticipate here. Ancient peoples, legends and scents of the Mediterranean, in the ruby reflection of a great Salento red or in the crystalline light of a Puglian white.