Puglia, as its known in Italy, is also known as Apulia in English. Its name derives from the Roman a-pluvia, which means "lack of rain" due to its hot and dry summers, although the winters are mild and rainy. This is a region on the far southeast of the Italian peninsula, ranging from the spur down to the heel of the boot; the region with the longest coastline on the country's mainland. It's neighbored by Molise to the north, Campania to the west, and Basilicata to the southwest.
(This article was written for GrapeBunch, our weekly wine periodical. Click here to read the original!)
Having been first colonized by the Mycenaean Greeks, this place has a rich and deep history, and you can see the Greek influence in the culture that it has developed over thousands of years. One of the things that Puglia is most famous for is their buildings called trulli. These are whitewashed limestone buildings, made in both cylinders and squares, with conical roofs. The way they are constructed allows them to require no mortar.
Being a peninsula on a peninsula, seafood is very important to Apulian cuisine, especially mussels. They also love octopus, anchovies, and prawns. Due to economical conditions of the past, meats like beef and pork were rare here during the development of their traditional dishes, while lamb, chicken and rabbit were more common. Of course, this being southern Italy, pizza and pasta with red sauce are very popular.
So... what about Apulian wine? Puglia is Italy's second largest wine-producing region, and also has the most land covered by vineyards with 263.70 acres. However, a lot of that goes to things like Vermouth and grape concentrate, so it comes in at #12 when broken down to vineyard land used for quality DOC and DOCG wines. Over 70% of the vineyards are on plains, as Puglia is a rather flat strip of land.
Red wine dominates here, especially Negroamaro and Primitivo. White wines are made using grapes like Verdeca, Bombino Bianco, and Bianco d'Alessano, however they very much take a backseat to the powerful reds.
While both the big reds here are dry, they both have a candied fruit thing going on in their profile that brings a touch of sweetness. Negroamaro translates to "black bitter", although the wine is anything but bitter. Rustic at times? Yes. They believe it was brought to Puglia by the Greeks in the 8th century BCE, so it's an old one! Negroamaro is full bodied with high tannin, with notes of black cherries, prunes, and thyme. It's the main grape of the Salice Salentino region within Puglia. You know Primitivo as California's Zinfandel, native to Croatia where it's called Crljenak Kaštelanski. To learn more about Primitivo, click here. It's grown all over Puglia, especially the west side of the region. Uva di Troia is another native grape that makes Apulian red wine.
Rocca Bella Negroamaro is 100% Negroamaro, a native grape of Southern Italy. It has soft tannins and notes of raspberries, blackberries, licorice, tar, and leather. Pairing: burgers, pulled pork, pizza, and grilled veggies.
Joey Casco
Beverage Marketer
Certified Specialist of Wine
Certified Specialist of Spirits
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