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Italy

Puglia

87 000 ha under vine

Soils
Iron-red terra rossa over limestone slabs, tufa and coastal sands
Climate
Flat, hot and dry between two seas — the least mountainous region of Italy

On the map

Puglia — 87 000 haLanguedoc — 220 000 haBordeaux — 110 000 haSicily — 98 000 haVeneto — 96 000 haSouthern Rhône — 66 000 haRioja — 66 000 haTuscany — 60 000 haLoire Valley — 57 000 haEmilia-Romagna — 50 000 haKakheti — 48 000 haSouth-West France — 45 000 haPiedmont — 43 000 haDouro — 43 000 haChampagne — 34 000 haAbruzzo — 33 000 haUtiel-Requena — 32 000 haBurgundy — 29 500 haProvence — 27 000 haSardinia — 27 000 haFriuli — 25 000 haRibera del Duero — 25 000 haPenedès — 25 000 haPfalz — 23 000 haCampania — 23 000 haAlentejo — 22 000 haMinho — 21 000 haRueda — 20 000 haDão — 20 000 haMarche — 16 000 haAlsace — 15 600 haBeaujolais — 13 500 haBurgenland — 13 000 haUmbria — 12 000 haCalabria — 9 000 haMosel — 8 800 haDalmatia — 8 000 haJerez — 7 000 haCyprus — 7 000 haAttica — 6 500 haFranken — 6 100 haCorsica — 6 000 haTokaj — 5 800 haAlto Adige — 5 600 haValais — 4 800 haNorthern Rhône — 4 400 haRías Baixas — 4 300 haNahe — 4 200 haSussex & Kent — 4 000 haRheingau — 3 200 haBierzo — 3 000 haNemea — 3 000 haSavoie — 2 200 haJura — 2 000 haPriorat — 2 000 haWachau — 1 350 haValdeorras — 1 300 haSantorini — 1 100 haNaoussa — 700 haMadeira — 450 haColares — 20 haPugliaLanguedocBordeauxSicilyVenetoSouthern RhôneRiojaTuscanyLoire ValleyEmilia-RomagnaKakhetiSouth-West FrancePiedmontDouroChampagneAbruzzoUtiel-RequenaBurgundyProvenceSardiniaFriuliRibera del DueroPenedèsPfalzCampaniaAlentejoMinhoRuedaDãoMarcheAlsaceBeaujolaisBurgenlandUmbriaCalabriaMoselDalmatiaJerezCyprusAtticaFrankenCorsicaTokajAlto AdigeValaisNorthern RhôneRías BaixasNaheSussex & KentRheingauBierzoNemeaSavoieJuraPrioratWachauValdeorrasSantoriniNaoussaMadeiraColares
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

The heel of the Italian boot has grown wine since the Greek settlers of Magna Graecia; Horace praised the wine of Tarentum. For roughly a century, Puglia was Europe's tank: oceans of dark Primitivo and Negroamaro travelled north to deepen thinner wines — much of it, discreetly, to France after phylloxera had emptied its cellars.

Two things turned the anonymous south into an export name. DNA analysis in 1994 proved that Primitivo and California's Zinfandel are the same grape, giving the region a story the American market already knew; and the old alberello bush vines of Manduria and the Salento — low, dry-farmed, planted for concentration rather than volume — turned out to be exactly what modern taste wanted.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Primitivo di Manduria Red wine

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 25The Monastic Middle Ages — 20Exploration & the Fortified Age — 20Classifications & the Golden Age — 25Phylloxera & the World Crises — 35The Modern & New World Era — 50Antiquity25500150017001875195050
Origins & Antiquity Antiquity The Monastic Middle Ages 500 Exploration & the Fortified Age 1500 Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950