Puglia

Primitivo di Manduria: Puglia's headline red - dark jam, spice, warmth.

Zinfandel's genetic twin, grown around Manduria, Sava and Lizzano on Salento's red soils. Expect blackberry, plum, dried fig and pepper, soft tannin and strong alcohol. The best keep their freshness; Riserva and old-vine bottles are fuller and cost more.

Zinfandel's genetic twin, grown around Manduria, Sava and Lizzano on Salento's red soils. Expect blackberry, plum, dried fig and pepper, soft tannin and strong alcohol. The best keep their freshness; Riserva and old-vine bottles are fuller and cost more.

Salice Salentino: Negroamaro's home - earthy, dark-cherry red with a bitter finish.

Near Lecce, Negroamaro is blended with a little Malvasia Nera, which softens it. Expect dark cherry, earth and spice, with a slightly bitter edge. Riserva is the step up; the rosato from the same grapes is also excellent.

Near Lecce, Negroamaro is blended with a little Malvasia Nera, which softens it. Expect dark cherry, earth and spice, with a slightly bitter edge. Riserva is the step up; the rosato from the same grapes is also excellent.

Locorotondo: crisp, salty white from Verdeca and Bianco d'Alessano.

Grown on limestone around 400 metres in the trulli country. Pale and dry with lemon, green apple, pear and a salty, almondy finish. Steel-fermented and best young; a local sparkling version is also made.

Grown on limestone around 400 metres in the trulli country. Pale and dry with lemon, green apple, pear and a salty, almondy finish. Steel-fermented and best young; a local sparkling version is also made.

Primitivo di Manduria: Puglia's headline red - dark jam, spice, warmth.

Zinfandel's genetic twin, grown around Manduria, Sava and Lizzano on Salento's red soils. Expect blackberry, plum, dried fig and pepper, soft tannin and strong alcohol. The best keep their freshness; Riserva and old-vine bottles are fuller and cost more.

Zinfandel's genetic twin, grown around Manduria, Sava and Lizzano on Salento's red soils. Expect blackberry, plum, dried fig and pepper, soft tannin and strong alcohol. The best keep their freshness; Riserva and old-vine bottles are fuller and cost more.

Off the beaten path: an organic Primitivo or Susumaniello from Del Prete.

A small, no-sulphur San Donaci farm. Rustic, real wines few friends at home will have tried.

A small, no-sulphur San Donaci farm. Rustic, real wines few friends at home will have tried.

Castel del Monte: Nero di Troia reds from the Murgia plateau, beside Frederick II's castle.

The north of Puglia. Nero di Troia gives firm, dark reds with plum, violet and licorice, more tannic and structured than Salento's. The Riserva wines are the serious ones; there is also a Bombino Nero rosato and crisp white.

The north of Puglia. Nero di Troia gives firm, dark reds with plum, violet and licorice, more tannic and structured than Salento's. The Riserva wines are the serious ones; there is also a Bombino Nero rosato and crisp white.

Old bush vines (alberello) give small crops and concentrated reds.

Many top Primitivo and Negroamaro vineyards are decades-old alberello vines, often 50 to 90 years old and never irrigated. Small crops mean concentration and savoury depth; this is what separates a serious Manduria from a branded supermarket Primitivo.

Many top Primitivo and Negroamaro vineyards are decades-old alberello vines, often 50 to 90 years old and never irrigated. Small crops mean concentration and savoury depth; this is what separates a serious Manduria from a branded supermarket Primitivo.

Something different: Torrevento Vigna Pedale, a pure Nero di Troia.

A northern red that tastes of violets and leather, not jam. Ages well and a good contrast to Salento.

A northern red that tastes of violets and leather, not jam. Ages well and a good contrast to Salento.

Salento IGT: the broad label hiding bargains and the peninsula's collector reds.

Salento IGT covers the whole heel and every grape. At the bottom it is branded supermarket red; at the top it holds dried-grape Negroamaro, old-vine blends and low-intervention Primitivo made outside the named appellations. Judge by the producer.

Salento IGT covers the whole heel and every grape. At the bottom it is branded supermarket red; at the top it holds dried-grape Negroamaro, old-vine blends and low-intervention Primitivo made outside the named appellations. Judge by the producer.

Small French oak for modern icons; cement and used wood for traditional ones.

Fino ages Es in small French oak. Taurino rests wines long in cement and uses mostly used barrels. The first is richer and spicier; the second is earthier and ages more slowly.

Fino ages Es in small French oak. Taurino rests wines long in cement and uses mostly used barrels. The first is richer and spicier; the second is earthier and ages more slowly.

Celebration: Fino Es, Morella La Signora or Taurino Patriglione.

The local high end: concentrated old-vine Primitivo or Negroamaro from small estates. Small production, hard to find abroad, and they age.

The local high end: concentrated old-vine Primitivo or Negroamaro from small estates. Small production, hard to find abroad, and they age.

Susumaniello: revived Brindisi red - dark berries, pepper, freshness.

Long neglected and used for bulk, now bottled alone for its deep colour, black pepper and surprising freshness.

Long neglected and used for bulk, now bottled alone for its deep colour, black pepper and surprising freshness.

Natalino Del Prete: organic, no-sulphur San Donaci reds and rosato.

A small organic farm with old bush vines and wines made without added sulphur. Nataly (Primitivo) and Anne (Negroamaro) are rustic and direct.

A small organic farm with old bush vines and wines made without added sulphur. Nataly (Primitivo) and Anne (Negroamaro) are rustic and direct.

Native yeast, concrete and no added sulphur: the Salento low-intervention style.

Morella ferments with native yeasts in open vats and presses in a basket press. Del Prete uses concrete tanks and adds no sulphur. Expect more texture, earthiness and bottle variation.

Morella ferments with native yeasts in open vats and presses in a basket press. Del Prete uses concrete tanks and adds no sulphur. Expect more texture, earthiness and bottle variation.

Height is how hot Puglia gets freshness: the Murgia plateau and Itria valley.

The cooler, higher limestone country - the Itria hills and the Murgia plateau - gives Puglia its best whites and its firmest reds.

Salento is warm and low; the freshest wines come from higher ground. The Valle d'Itria sits on a limestone plateau at roughly 300 to 500 metres, and Locorotondo is around 410 metres. Cool nights and fast-draining karst soil keep Verdeca and Bianco d'Alessano pale, dry and salty rather than flabby, which is why the valley is sometimes called an island of whites in a red region. Further north, Castel del Monte's vineyards climb the Murgia plateau, where thick-skinned, late-ripening Nero di Troia keeps good acidity alongside its tannin. Gioia del Colle, on higher ground south of Bari, is where some writers find the finest Primitivo. For a traveler, altitude is a shortcut: if a label names a hill town or a plateau rather than the coast, expect a leaner, fresher wine.

Cosimo Taurino: traditional benchmark; Patriglione and Salice Salentino Riserva.

A family house that began bottling its own wine in 1970 and made Salice Salentino's reputation for longevity.

Cosimo Taurino's family sold wine to northern producers as blending stock from the early nineteenth century; in 1970 Cosimo began bottling under his own name, starting with Notarpanaro, a pure Negroamaro. Patriglione came in 1974, reportedly by accident, from a cask of late-harvested Negroamaro that fermented dry; it is the estate's most prized red and spends a year in French barriques. The Salice Salentino blends Negroamaro with a little Malvasia Nera, and a Riserva has been made since 1977. The style is traditional and a little rustic: brief time in mostly used oak, long rest in cement, wines meant to last. Importers describe the Salice Salentino as having shocking longevity. For a traveler this is the clearest picture of old-school Salento red, at a fair price.

Torrevento Vigna Pedale: pure Nero di Troia Riserva, the northern benchmark.

A family-owned house since 1948. Vigna Pedale Riserva is pure Nero di Troia from the Pedale district.

Torrevento has been a family business since 1948 and is run today by the Liantonio brothers on the Murgia plateau near Castel del Monte. Its Vigna Pedale Riserva is the clearest introduction to Nero di Troia: a single red made entirely from that grape, grown on the limestone soils of the Pedale district. Young, it is deep ruby with plum, blackberry, licorice and violet, firm tannin and good acidity. With age it moves to leather, dried rose petal and tobacco, and top examples can last a decade or more. It is a more structured, more savoury wine than a Salento Primitivo, so drink it with roast lamb or a ragu rather than on its own. The estate's Ottagono is a second, more approachable red. Bring Vigna Pedale home if you want a Puglian red that tastes nothing like Zinfandel.

Gianfranco Fino: tiny Sava estate; Es is the benchmark Primitivo.

A small Sava estate with old bush vines and almost no irrigation. Es is its Primitivo flagship; the Negroamaro Jo shows the same hand.

Agronomist Gianfranco Fino founded this estate in 2004 at Sava, in the Manduria zone. He works around fifteen small parcels of Primitivo and Negroamaro on limestone-clay red soil, with vines 50 to 90 years old, trained as bush vines and not irrigated. Production is tiny, in the low tens of thousands of bottles, and everything is picked by hand. The wines are full-bodied and strong, aged in small French oak, and aimed at concentration rather than lightness. Es is the flagship and one of the names that defines high-end Primitivo; the Negroamaro Jo shows the same approach on the other grape, and an entry Primitivo is also made. Es is hard to find outside Italy and priced accordingly, so the winery or a good enoteca is the place to look. This is the Manduria bottle to bring home for a special occasion.

Vallone Graticciaia: dried-grape Negroamaro from 70- to 80-year-old vines.

A dense, polished red from a Brindisi family estate; the grapes are dried on racks before fermenting.

Agricole Vallone is a family estate in the Brindisi area with three vineyards and plantings going back to the 1930s. Graticciaia is its showpiece: entirely Negroamaro from a parcel of vines 70 to 80 years old, picked by hand and dried on racks - graticci - before a slow, cool fermentation and a year in French oak. Output is only a couple of thousand cases. In the glass it is deep red with black cherry, plum, anise and a touch of chocolate, plus savoury leather, tobacco and bay. It is a heavy, concentrated dried-grape red, so treat it as a slow-dinner wine, not a lunch red, and decant it. It is sold under the broad Salento/Brindisi IGP label, a good example of a top wine outside the appellation ladder. The estate's Vereto Salice Salentino Riserva is the less costly way into the same house style.

Dried grapes make Madrigale (sweet) and Graticciaia (dense dry-style red).

Two Salento wines start with dried grapes: a sweet Primitivo from Manduria and a rich Negroamaro from Brindisi. Both are heavy, strong, dessert-weight wines.

Drying grapes concentrates sugar and flavour before fermentation. Puglia's two prominent examples are Manduria's Dolce Naturale, a sweet red of dried fig and dark fruit, and Vallone's Graticciaia, a Negroamaro dried on racks (graticci) and fermented slowly before a year in French oak. Both are heavy wines. Dolce Naturale is a true dessert red. Graticciaia is dense and strong, with black cherry, anise, leather and chocolate, closer to a fortified wine in weight though it is not fortified, and it is a wine for slow-cooked meat and aged cheese, not an everyday red. The practice is old in the south, where sun-dried grapes were once the way to make strong, long-lasting wine. If you taste either in a cellar, expect small pours and a price to match.

Morella: biodynamic old-vine Primitivo near the Ionian coast.

Australian-born winemaker Lisa Gilbee and Gaetano Morella farm 45- to 95-year-old Primitivo biodynamically and make several single-vineyard bottlings.

Morella was founded in 2000 by Lisa Gilbee, an Australian-born winemaker, and her husband Gaetano Morella, a few kilometres from the Ionian Sea. The vineyards are red clay over limestone, with old bush-vine Primitivo planted between about 45 and 95 years ago; the farming is biodynamic. In the cellar the approach is gentle: native yeasts, open fermenters, hand-plunging and a basket press. Primitivo is bottled as several named wines - Old Vines, La Signora, Mondo Nuovo and Alla Fiorentina - and there is a Negroamaro too. The wines are full and ripe but savoury, with plum, dried fig and earth rather than sugary jam. Production is around forty thousand bottles, so it is scarce but not impossible to find. It is the best place to see how far old vines and careful handling can push Primitivo.

Hot sun tempered by two seas: ripe fruit, soft tannins, strong wines.

Puglia is long, flat and sunny, with the Adriatic on one side and the Ionian on the other. Grapes ripen fully, so reds are plump and dark-fruited with soft tannin and plenty of alcohol. Sea breezes and cooler nights keep the best bottles from tasting cooked.

Puglia is long, flat and sunny, with the Adriatic on one side and the Ionian on the other. Grapes ripen fully, so reds are plump and dark-fruited with soft tannin and plenty of alcohol. Sea breezes and cooler nights keep the best bottles from tasting cooked.

In the glass: Ripe dark fruit, soft tannin, high alcohol; freshness depends on the producer

Old bush vines (alberello) give small crops and concentrated reds.

Many top Primitivo and Negroamaro vineyards are decades-old alberello vines, often 50 to 90 years old and never irrigated. Small crops mean concentration and savoury depth; this is what separates a serious Manduria from a branded supermarket Primitivo.

Many top Primitivo and Negroamaro vineyards are decades-old alberello vines, often 50 to 90 years old and never irrigated. Small crops mean concentration and savoury depth; this is what separates a serious Manduria from a branded supermarket Primitivo.

In the glass: Concentration, savoury depth and a firmer frame than young trellised vines

Red clay over limestone gives dark fruit and an earthy, mineral edge.

Salento's terra rossa is red clay on limestone. It holds just enough water for old vines to cope with dry summers. Estates around Manduria and Copertino point to it for the iron-and-earth note in their reds and rosatos.

Salento's terra rossa is red clay on limestone. It holds just enough water for old vines to cope with dry summers. Estates around Manduria and Copertino point to it for the iron-and-earth note in their reds and rosatos.

In the glass: Dark fruit, earthy iron note, a mineral finish

Height is how hot Puglia gets freshness: the Murgia plateau and Itria valley.

The cooler, higher limestone country - the Itria hills and the Murgia plateau - gives Puglia its best whites and its firmest reds.

Salento is warm and low; the freshest wines come from higher ground. The Valle d'Itria sits on a limestone plateau at roughly 300 to 500 metres, and Locorotondo is around 410 metres. Cool nights and fast-draining karst soil keep Verdeca and Bianco d'Alessano pale, dry and salty rather than flabby, which is why the valley is sometimes called an island of whites in a red region. Further north, Castel del Monte's vineyards climb the Murgia plateau, where thick-skinned, late-ripening Nero di Troia keeps good acidity alongside its tannin. Gioia del Colle, on higher ground south of Bari, is where some writers find the finest Primitivo. For a traveler, altitude is a shortcut: if a label names a hill town or a plateau rather than the coast, expect a leaner, fresher wine.

In the glass: Higher acidity, paler and more precise whites, firmer reds than the coastal plain

Yield sets the price: cheap Puglia IGT versus controlled-yield bottles.

Heavy crops of Negroamaro and Primitivo become simple, sweet-tasting Puglia IGT. Estates that cut yields make the serious wines - many of the best Negroamaro come from the Salice Salentino area. The jump in price usually buys a real jump in quality.

Heavy crops of Negroamaro and Primitivo become simple, sweet-tasting Puglia IGT. Estates that cut yields make the serious wines - many of the best Negroamaro come from the Salice Salentino area. The jump in price usually buys a real jump in quality.

In the glass: Simple, sugary-tasting wine vs dense, balanced wine with structure

Jammy or fresh? The producer decides how sweet-tasting a warm red is.

Warm-climate Primitivo and Negroamaro can drift towards jam and sweetness. The better estates now pick for freshness, and the style has moved that way.

The classic risk with these grapes is a jammy, sweet-tasting, sometimes porty red, and older Puglian wine often showed it. In recent years the best producers have moved towards wines that keep fruit and acidity, with less obvious sweetness and a more Mediterranean, savoury identity. Primitivo tends to hold its freshness better than Negroamaro does, and the dry rosato and softer, chillable Negroamaro styles are generally more successful than heavy single-grape reds from the same grape. When you taste, check three things: whether the finish is dry or sweet, whether the acidity lifts the fruit, and whether the alcohol is hidden or hot. Serving a Primitivo slightly cool also helps. The estates named in this guide are chosen because they tend to deliver the fresher, drier side of the style.

In the glass: Fresh, savoury and dry vs jammy, sweet-tasting and hot

Rosato is made by bleeding a red or by short, gentle pressing.

The older way bleeds juice off red fermentations; many modern pinks are gently pressed with hours of skin contact; a few get a day on skins for deeper colour and more body. Oak is rarely used.

The older way bleeds juice off red fermentations; many modern pinks are gently pressed with hours of skin contact; a few get a day on skins for deeper colour and more body. Oak is rarely used.

In the glass: Pale and delicate with short contact; copper, fuller and spicier with a day on skins

Small French oak for modern icons; cement and used wood for traditional ones.

Fino ages Es in small French oak. Taurino rests wines long in cement and uses mostly used barrels. The first is richer and spicier; the second is earthier and ages more slowly.

Fino ages Es in small French oak. Taurino rests wines long in cement and uses mostly used barrels. The first is richer and spicier; the second is earthier and ages more slowly.

In the glass: Vanilla and sweet spice (new oak) vs earthy, savoury and slow-opening (cement, old wood)

Dried grapes make Madrigale (sweet) and Graticciaia (dense dry-style red).

Two Salento wines start with dried grapes: a sweet Primitivo from Manduria and a rich Negroamaro from Brindisi. Both are heavy, strong, dessert-weight wines.

Drying grapes concentrates sugar and flavour before fermentation. Puglia's two prominent examples are Manduria's Dolce Naturale, a sweet red of dried fig and dark fruit, and Vallone's Graticciaia, a Negroamaro dried on racks (graticci) and fermented slowly before a year in French oak. Both are heavy wines. Dolce Naturale is a true dessert red. Graticciaia is dense and strong, with black cherry, anise, leather and chocolate, closer to a fortified wine in weight though it is not fortified, and it is a wine for slow-cooked meat and aged cheese, not an everyday red. The practice is old in the south, where sun-dried grapes were once the way to make strong, long-lasting wine. If you taste either in a cellar, expect small pours and a price to match.

In the glass: Dried fig, raisin and dark chocolate; concentrated, strong and heavy

Native yeast, concrete and no added sulphur: the Salento low-intervention style.

Morella ferments with native yeasts in open vats and presses in a basket press. Del Prete uses concrete tanks and adds no sulphur. Expect more texture, earthiness and bottle variation.

Morella ferments with native yeasts in open vats and presses in a basket press. Del Prete uses concrete tanks and adds no sulphur. Expect more texture, earthiness and bottle variation.

In the glass: Earthier, textural, savoury wines that vary between bottles

Negroamaro is softened with Malvasia Nera, and Primitivo sometimes with Negroamaro.

Blending is the local habit: Malvasia Nera rounds Negroamaro, and Cantele's Amativo mixes Primitivo and Negroamaro. Pure single-grape wines are the exception.

Blending is the local habit: Malvasia Nera rounds Negroamaro, and Cantele's Amativo mixes Primitivo and Negroamaro. Pure single-grape wines are the exception.

In the glass: Softer tannin, more perfume, a rounder red

Local fizz: Locorotondo spumante and sparkling Bombino from the north.

The Itria whites also make a sparkling version, and Bombino Bianco and Bombino Nero are used for traditional-method and rosé sparkling in the north. A local fizz is the natural celebration bottle.

The Itria whites also make a sparkling version, and Bombino Bianco and Bombino Nero are used for traditional-method and rosé sparkling in the north. A local fizz is the natural celebration bottle.

In the glass: Crisp, fruity and light; rosé versions taste of strawberry