Region: Apulia (Puglia)

Zone:

Salento IGT

Italy’s heel is an elongated and predominantly flat peninsula, where the Salento zone constitutes the southernmost part. As a visitor, you may imagine yourself transported to North Africa, considering the brick-red soil, with cacti growing everywhere and clusters of palm trees casting their cool shades on the small villages and stone lined vineyards.

Most Salento wines have been giving body and soul to the wines in the north for many years. However, it is the winegrowers’ goal to produce wines that possess not only power, but also style and grace, and in the recent years they managed to do that just fine.

Some of Salento’s finest wines are produced under IGT, comprising 12 red and 7 white wines. The large available cultivation areas and the great uniformity in quality and types raise the logical question of why Salento has not been put under a DOC appellation, together with other areas under it, as classified subzones. The answer to that question is not known, but perhaps it will be one day.

So far, one can enjoy remarkable red wines such as Quarantale from Calo, Notarparano and Patriglione from Taurino, Duca d’Aragona from Canditos and Conti Zeccas ‘Nero’, which are acclaimed and renowned wines.

Of course, we are following the development and we will soon register the IGT wines from Salento.