The fine wine regions of southern Italy deserve more attention. They produce a wide range of delicious wines—white, red, and rosé. Premier regions, such Salice Salentino, make richly fruited, but also complex and age-worthy, red wine.

Salice Salentino DOC lies in southern Puglia on the Salento peninsula. The premier grape of Salice Salentino is Negroamaro, producing both red wine and rosé. The Aleatico variety delivers sweet red wines and fortifieds. White wines include Chardonnay, Fiano, and Pinot Bianco. Sparkling wines come in white and rosé.

About Puglia

For reasons both geographical and circumstantial, Puglia has long been one of Italy’s most important wine-producing regions. Puglia [aka Apulia] is in the southeastern extreme of continental Italy. The southernmost portion of Puglia, the Salento peninsula, forms the heel of Italy’s famous boot.

This location was an easy trip for the ancient Greeks, who planted vitis vinifera grapes and fostered winemaking around the Mediterranean. Though grapes certainly grew wild in the area well before that, and wine may have ensued, the Greeks brought cultivation, winemaking technique, and enthusiasm. Very common in Puglia is the [un]training system of low, non-trellised, bush vines, a scheme called albarello. This style of viticulture hails from Greece, where it allows vines to thrive in the very warm, dry, windy, Mediterranean climate which it shares with Puglia. 

An example of albarello trained vines in Puglia

Winegrowing continued to improve under the Romans. And Puglia’s location was again fortuitous, making the area a convenient trading center. It became a significant exporter of wine. This continued after the fall of Rome, through the crusades and a series of foreign rulers: the Norman-Hohenstaufen dynasty, the French House of Anjou, the Spanish House of Aragon, the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. Finally, in 1861, joined the Kingdom of Italy.

That coincided with the arrival of phylloxera in European vineyards. For a time though, even phylloxera fostered growth for Puglia. The infamous louse devastated vineyards in northern Europe beginning in the 1850s. However, the dry and relatively isolated vineyards of Puglia held out until the 1920s. In the meantime, Puglia had tripled its acreage and was crucial in making up for the precipitous drop in production elsewhere.

Puglia is uniquely suited to this among Italian regions. Mountains and hills dominate the lands of Italy. Just 2% of Tuscan territory is plains, There are essentially no plains in Abruzzo, Marche, Molise, or Umbria. Plains constitute less than 20% of the land in any other southern Italian region. That makes for spectacular vistas, but severely limits plantable acres. Puglia, however, is 53% plains—mostly with well-drained soils—and just 2% mountain. And Puglia’s warm, sunny, Mediterranean climate is consistently hospitable for grape growing.

Fast-forward to the 1990’s. After a long period as a high-volume supplier, Puglia turned its focus to high quality. Production dropped substantially, through both vine removal and purposeful reduction in yields. Puglia remains one of Italy’s top three regions by volume, but improvements in both viticulture and winemaking have led to more balanced, structured, and complex wines. With this steady improvement, as of 2017, about 7% of Puglia’s wine was DOC/G level and 23% IGT [Istat data, 2018].

About Salice Salentino DOC

Established in 1976, the Salice Salentino DOC comprises 3,862 vineyard acres (as of 2015). Located south of the coastal city of Brindisi, Salice Salentino is land-locked, but enjoys cooling breezes from both the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Its deep soils are mostly clay-limestone.

The signature wine is the Negroamaro-centric Salice Salentino Rosso. Blending is common, usually with Malvasia Nera, but at least 75% of the wine must be Negroamaro. Some producers make 100% varietal wines. 

Negroamaro, the hallmark grape of Salice Salentino

Negroamaro, which translates to black-bitter, has been in Puglia for centuries. It’s origin is unknown, but it’s unrelated to either Sangiovese or any modern Greek varieties and it may be native to the area. True to its name, Negroamaro is thick-skinned and very dark. It ripens on the late side and maintains acidity fairly well, ideal for the warm Puglia climate. The wines naturally tend toward soft tannins and flavors of sweet, berry fruit with spicy and earthy accents. A versatile grape, viticultural and winemaking choices can lead it toward very happy, fruity, drink-now wines or serious, full-bodied wines with substantial tannic structure and potential for development over 5+ years.

Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva represents the latter style. Those wines must age for at least two years prior to release. Six months of that time must be in wood. Size, type of wood, and the percentage which is new varies by producer, wine, and vintage.

Tastes of Salice Salentino

An impressive example of Negroamaro is the 2013 Sampietrana Vigna delle Monache Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva DOP*. 100% varietal Negroamaro, it’s dark purple in the glass and overflows with generous aromas of ripe dark fruit (black plum, black cherry, and berries), complemented by notes of espresso, wood, and caramel. The nose is attractively balanced, a chorus of aromas with no voice rising above the others.

The palate is dry, nearly full-bodied, and long with intense, pleasantly tangy, fruit-forward flavors, including ripe black cherry, red rope, and blackberry with bass notes of unsweetened chocolate and dark mineral. Tannins are largely soft and well-integrated, but include just a bit of mildly drying, fine-grained texture for interest. Alcohol is well-behaved and just 13.5%. 

The other star of Salice Salentino is rosato [rosé]. It can be made as a blend, with at least 75% Negroamaro, or a varietal wine (minimum 85%). These deeply colored, richly flavorful rosato are among the very best in Italy.

The 2017 Cantina San Donaci Anticaia Salice Salentino DOP has gorgeous color, intense orange-pink and smells of strawberries and orange Creamsicle. The juicy, medium-bodied palate is sensual with slippery viscosity and succulent, long-lasting flavors of strawberry and blood orange. It’s gulpable on its own, but will also work well with many foods from appetizers, cheeses, and salads to light meat dishes.

Conclusion

There’s much to love in Italian wine. And the marquee regions of the north always beckon. But don’t ignore the many, wonderful southern zones. Consider starting your exploration with Salice Salentino. Its wines are a happy medium between traditionally savory Old World wines and the more fruit-forward style of the New World. And, while this isn’t a travel blog, I should point out that the Salento peninsula is a beautiful and welcoming destination for tourists, with fascinating architecture, picturesque beaches and excellent food. Plus, wine!

*DOP (written as PDO in some countries) is an EU wine-quality designation. In Italy, it encompasses the traditional DOC and DOCG designations. European wineries are slowly moving toward use of DOP/PDO rather than their domestic nomenclature.

Copyright Fred Swan 2019. Images from Wines of Puglia. All rights reserved.