The Wine & Food
of Puglia
Puglia’s changed….going outside its co-op comfort zone
to become one of the South’s most striking viticultural outposts.
While it continues to develop and realize its inherent potential beyond
a prodigious turnout, it is currently thriving in the high-quality
value genre—maintaining
impressive numbers while doing so, given fairly
moderate production costs. Italy’s heel is getting ever higher,
stepping out to claim (some stomping) ground among the well-heeled
further up the Boot.
The generous number of Puglian DOCs ostensibly conflicts with the
region’s rather limited output of classified wine. Yet, viewed
from another perspective, these designations
portend and accommodate future productions. As
Puglia’s
heightened values are mainly projected through
its red wine production, many will likely be
represented by red, yet (some whites have begun
to assert their colors as well) the whites may
begin to assert their colors as well.
uglia’s two largest white DOC zones—Locorotondo and
Martina Franca—essentially mirror one another’s production,
rendering the formal distinction between them rather superfluous.
These efforts, however seemingly homogenous, meet with an apparently
appreciative audience, as their sizable production—rooted in
Verdeca, a high-acid, moderately herbal grape—doesn’t
make it beyond the zones in question. For right now, Puglia doesn’t
really identify with a white/lay claim to a white. However, it’s
taken to Chardonnay fairly well, which is afforded a liberal presence
in the Castel del Monte and Salice Salentino zones. The former also
produces monovarietal bottlings of grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc,
Pinot Bianco, and Bombino Bianco.
While it may want for whites to call its own, it certainly owns its
reds, all of which are serving as valuable emissaries of its transition.
In fact, Puglia’s three main reds—Primitivo, Negroamaro,
and Uva di Troia—have emerged on the scene as individual personalities.
Primitivo—the most readily recognized of the three—won
the widespread attention of an American audience through the medium
of the Primitivo grape. Speculation about the nature of its relationship
to Zinfandel precipitated several theories for a number of years,
with closure/resolution brought by University of California at Davis
researchers, who established the genetic connection between them.
Primitivo’s American fan base respond/gravitated to the grape’s
generous provision of fruit, sweet tannins, and relatively high alcohol.
It’s not just another early ripener–lush quaffer, however,
as certain renditions may evince considerable power. Several producers
fortify the wine’s structure through aging in barrique.
Negroamaro is the most structured and ageworthy of the three, and
is often found in the company of Malvasia Nera, which ameliorates
its oftentimes tannic disposition, aptly captured in its given name,
meaning “black and bitter.” This blending of the powerful
and the perfumed is represented across 11 DOC zones, the most notable
of these being Salice Salentino. The foremost ambassador of both Negroamaro–driven
wines and Puglian wines in general is Cosimo Taurino, which served,
for several years, as America’s sole reference for Puglian vino.
Uva di Troia may not possess the name recognition
of its fellow reds, yet many regard it as the
most intriguing of Puglia’s
trio, given its pronounced aromatics and dense coloration. The most
familiar of the grape’s relevant DOCs is Castel de Monte, which
provides both monovarietal wines and blends featuring Aglianico and
Montepulciano.
With reds such as these, the rosés have got to be good, and
Puglia doesn’t disappoint, producing serious pinks that provide
an impeccable complement to brodetti (spicy fish soups). Negroamaro
and Primitivo are often found in the pink, delivering modified expressions
of their spice and concentration.
While Puglia is fairly limited in the sweet wines category, those
available highlight its inherent propensity for
the appassimento process,
utilized in the production of some Salice Salentino
and Primitivo di Manduria bottlings. Two notable rarities are Moscato
di Trani and Aleatico di Puglia, the latter of which is all but obsolete
at present.
Puglia isn’t much for moderation, however, as far
as its specialties are concerned: Four DOP–grade olive oils—Colline
di Brindisi, Dauno, Terra di Bari, and Terra di Otranto—issue
from its abundant olive trees. It is also a prolific producer
of pastas—derived
from durum wheat and produced in an extensive
array of shapes. Fish are in plentiful supply, with oysters and mussels
enjoying the most celebrated attentions.
Puglia’s earnest on the baking front as well, with its specialty—focaccia—having
developed a particularly devoted American following. Breads fashioned
to accommodate fillings—calzoni, calzuncieddi, panzerotti and sfogliate—enjoy
extensive native popularity.
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Regional Information
Capital City: Bari
Provinces: 5
Surface: 7,477 sq miles
Population: 4,071,518
Density: 81/sq mile
Grapes
White Grapes:
Verdeca
Bianco d’Alessano
Bombino Bianco
Trebbiano Toscano
Red Grapes:
Negroamaro
Primitivo
Malvasia Nera
Uva di Troia
Food
Cheese
Caciocavallo Silano
Canestrato Pugliese
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Colline di Brindisi
Dauno
Terra di Bari
Terra d'Otranto
Other Regional Specialties
Orecchiette Pasta
Puddica
Cima di Rapa
(Broccoli Rabe)
Recipes
Orecchiette con
Cavolfiore
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