Primitive Puglia 2022

San Marzano is a small village in Puglia located in the heel of the Italian boot, a strip of land embraced by two seas: the Ionian and Adriatic. It was there that in 1962, 19 small winegrowers decided to come together and work together to make their dreams come true: making local, terroir wines. The vines are located in the San Marzano area in Salento. Primitivo from Puglia is one of the oldest Italian grape varieties and produces great red wines, such as the famous "Primitivo di Manduria", today recognized by all wine lovers. This vintage comes from harvests entirely made by hand. Fermentation is carried out entirely in stainless steel vats and rests on lees for several months. This sun-drenched wine expresses itself with black cherries , plum , wild blackberry , blueberry jam , rosemary , licorice , and vanilla . On the palate, this Italian red wine flatters with its roundness and its velvety tannins which provide great drinkability and which leads to a generous finish.

Ah Italy, what a beautiful hedonistic country, people of the Dolce Vita, but what difficulty in understanding its wine organization! The key to understanding the naming system in Italy is to think of it as several small countries rather than a single homogeneous country because each region has its own naming system. Italy can, however, give wine lovers a multitude of wines with varied and unique flavors and styles, as well as bottles filled with surprise and creativity. Unfortunately, it also produces a large quantity of soulless and characterless wines which are sold under their most useful and commercially reputable name: Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Valpolicella, Lambrusco, Prosecco and many others... But let's talk a little history, viticulture in Italy dates back to ancient times and it originated in Greece. The Etruscans would have planted vines and Greek immigrants would have improved and modified the grape varieties who subsequently called this country "Oenotria": the country of wine. At the height of the Roman Empire, wine held an important place in daily life and certain regions already stood out for the excellence of their product. The Romans also established numerous vineyards in Europe, leaving an indelible testimony to their invasion. Today Italy is the largest wine producer in the world, ahead of France. Italy is divided into three climatic areas. The northern mountains experience a fairly harsh mountain climate. The “middle of the boot” plain is the domain of the continental climate with cold winters and hot, stormy summers. In the "southern part of the Italian boot" the Mediterranean climate reigns with very hot and very dry summers without forgetting the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. In summary, Italy produces wines of great variety thanks to its 200 different grape varieties, many of which originate from their lands. It is a country just as complex as its wines which deserve to be explored!