Puglia boasts a fairly important viticultural culture although often overshadowed by other primates: oil, tomatoes, artichokes of course are no less and it often happens that the spotlight is focused on these excellences. Yet, in the Apulian wine scene, a very important market niche stands out: that of Salento wines. Let’s spend a few words today on these wines, for the benefit of enthusiasts who want to know and discover them.
What are the best wines of Salento?
As you all know, Salento is the southernmost part of the Puglia region. It offers enchanting landscapes, an interesting culture resulting from the mixture of Greek and Middle Eastern influences, and a truly rich gastronomy. Accompanied by excellent wines. You are therefore wondering which are the best wines of Salento.
Production areas of Salento wines
We can roughly establish three areas of Salento in which the great wines of Salento are produced:
- the area of Manduria
- the Brindisino
- the South Salento
Think that once upon a time the enological products of these lands were sent to other Italian regions to be used as “blending” wines, or to give life to fine blends with labels from other wineries and other regions.
But with the passage of time Puglia and Salento have treasured their experience and have begun to appear on the market with indigenous and identity products. Authentic Made in Italy products, which have conquered not only experts and enthusiasts from all over the country, but also from all over the world.
Salento wines denominations
In addition to the three production areas, we must also introduce a distinction between the denominations with which the wines are indicated: in Salento we have both IGP and IGT wines. Which mean Protected Geographical Indication and Typical Geographical Indication respectively. Then there are the DOC, DOCG and DOP wines. As you can see, there are 5 denominations to classify and identify wines.
We distinguish between PGI and IGT
IGT: means Typical Geographical Indication. On the labels of IGT wines it is not mandatory to write which is the grape variety of origin, the vintage and not even the color of the wine. The specification indicates that these wines must come from the geographical area indicated for a minimum of 85%. The remaining 15% may instead belong to different vines as long as they come from the same area or from neighboring areas. Do not confuse these wines with table wines found in large-scale distribution. They are wines of excellent quality from a well-defined territory.
IGP: means Protected Geographical Indication. These wines come from a very specific territory therefore we expect to find well-defined characteristics and qualities within them, which precisely speak of the territory of origin. The disciplinary is quite rigorous, even if less rigorous than those for the production of DOC-branded products. If in DOC-branded products the product must be produced, transformed and processed in the territory of origin, in the PGI it is sufficient that only one of the aforementioned phases takes place in the territory.
What are the best Salento wines to give
The best wines of Salento are often different from each other. Salento is a small land after all, but there is no lack of variety. And they are all perfectly matched with the traditional dishes of Puglia. Let’s see some ideas. Without going into the merits of the cellars and the names of the wines, we give you some ideas about the vines and wines. Giving one of these Salento wines as a gift is certainly a choice of great taste therefore we advise you to keep in mind the products that we indicate below. Many of them are available on our shop signed La Terra di Puglia. You can also buy a single bottle, or a richer supply to enrich your cellar with quality products from Salento.
White wines of Salento
- Chardonnay PGI from Salento
- Briosé IGP from Salento
- White Malvasia of Salento
- Vermentino IGP from Salento
- Leverano PDO Leverano
Red wines of Salento
- Negramaro
- Willow Salentino
- Primitivo (try the Primitivo di Manduria DOC)
- Susumaniello
- Malvasia Nera di Lecce
In general all these wines are quite full bodied but not overwhelming. The reds accompany very well the dishes of the gastronomic and peasant tradition of Salento and Puglia (fresh pasta dishes, legume soups, roasted meat, grilled or cooked vegetables), the whites are ideal for aperitifs or fish dishes. The Land of Puglia has selected some for you
Article by:https://www.laterradipuglia.it/2022/economia-pugliese/i-migliori-vini-del-salento.htm
