Puglia thinks pink with statement-making rosé wines

From the day a colorfully festooned package arrived from Puglia or Apulia (pronounced “Pulia”), I’d been eagerly anticipating a deep dive into rosé wines from this southernmost Italian province.

Rosé in Puglia? Yes! Best known for its powerful red wines, the heel of Italy’s “boot” also produces statement-making rosés. Italian rosé (rosato) actually started in Puglia back in 1943. Today, you can find rosato in Tuscany, Lombardy, Sicily and Sardinia, but Puglia remains the country’s largest producer. An estimated 44 percent of the country’s rosé wines comes from Puglia.

Adding to my excitement was the offer of an online wine tasting with the producers. In the “Before Times,” when Covid wasn’t crashing parties, wine associations organized in-person events and wineries welcomed tourists by the busload. Now these online tastings are popping up everywhere, it seems – so much so that a blogger can fill a calendar with Zoom calls.

Not that I’m complaining.

I’m actually grateful to Caterina Baldini from the Associazione Puglia in Rosé, the first wine producers’ association dedicated to Apulian rosé wines, for arranging a virtual meeting with the three producers of these five wines. All three represent family-owned wineries in business for generations. Their passion for winemaking and pride in their heritage shined through the screen and across the miles. Oh, and by the way, six of the seven people on this call (myself included) were women.

“It’s difficult to present a wine online,” Caterina tells me, “but we’re doing well.” The association would like to organize a group of U.S. tourists to visit Puglia and meet with winemakers in person. “We’re working on it,” she adds. “The work never stopped.”

Please note that while the wines for this post were provided, opinions are my own.

Fertile soil, warm climate

Fertile soil and a warm, Mediterranean climate make Puglia hospitable to all kinds of agriculture. Half of the country’s olive oil comes from Puglia, and this southernmost Italian province grows some 20 varieties of grapes.

Quick facts:

• Located in southeastern Italy, Puglia is a long, narrow region surrounded by water on three sides and with almost 500 miles of coastline on the both the Adriatic and Ionian seas.
• From north to south, mainly flat and hilly Puglia is divided into five main wine regions: Daunia, Alta (high) Murgia, Bassa (lower) Murgia, Valle d’Itria, and Salento.
• Coastal and flat areas have warm, windy and dry summers, and mild winters. Cool breezes off the Mediterranean moderate hot vineyard temperatures. Rainfall, which mainly occurs during the fall and winter, is low. Higher elevations in Murgia see snow and get blanketed in late autumn and winter mists.
• Eight native varieties are used to produce Apulian rosés: Negramaro, Malvasia Nera, Nero di Troia, Bombino Nero, Primitivo, Aglianico, Susumaniello, and Aleatico, depending on the subregion. Non-native rosé grapes include Sangiovese, Pinot Nero, and Montepulciano. These diverse grapes give Apulian rosés their own special character.

Roots of Apulian rosé

Apulian rosé started with Negroamaro, the indigenous variety that put Salice Salentino on the winemaking map. Red wine made from Negroamaro has flavors of ripe plum, baked raspberries, and baking spices.

This ancient grape variety, now planted only in the Salento peninsula on the backside of Italy’s boot, was once common in many areas of southern Italy. It is believed that Negroamaro originated on the Balkan Peninsula and made its way to Italy via Greek colonization. The Greeks instructed the Italians on how to get rosé wine using the “tear method,” a delicate pressing of red grapes that make them literally “tear,” then collecting the juice and separating it immediately from the skins.

In 1943, Salvatore De Castris relaunched this original Negramaro rosé using beer bottles from his winery near Salice Salentino. The Puglia in Rosé Association credits this rosé for contributing to the overall reputation of wines from this region.

Several ways to make rosé

To make a rosé, winemakers start with red grapes. After that, they have a choice of methods:

• Maceration (Skin-Contact) – This is the most common way to make rosé, the one used in Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon, France. For a short period, at most 24 hours, the juice rests on the skins. Then the juice is separated, and the winemaking process continues as it would for a white wine.
• Saignée or “Bleeding” – In this method, which is less common, the juice is bled off during the first few hours of making a red wine and placed in a separate vat to make rosé.
• Blending – The blending method is just what it sounds like. A little bit of red wine is added to a vat of white wine. This method is uncommon with still rosé wines but happens much more in sparkling wine regions such as Champagne.

Ready to meet the producers?

Cantine D’Alessandro

The D’Alessandro family has been making wine near Bari, the main city of Puglia, since the 19^th century. Siblings Giovanni and Angela joined us on the Zoom call. Along with sister Arianna, they are the fourth generation to run this family business.

Starting with their grandparents’ approximately 2.5 acres, the D’Alessandros now boast over 135 acres of vineyards (some south of Bari and others further away). This generation planted the land to native varieties such as Primitivo, Negroamaro, Uva di Troia, Verdeca, Malvasia, and Fiano. In addition, they continue to grow the Sangiovese grape that their grandfather planted. Limestone/clay soil and sunshine “every day of the year,” as Angela notes, are the biggest factors affecting the grapes.

The 2019 D’Alessandro Cattedrale Rosato IGP Puglia is 100% estate-grown Sangiovese from the vineyards nearest to their winery. Grapes are left on the skins for six to eight hours and fermented at low temperatures. The wine spends four months in stainless steel before bottling. The label features an ornate church window in red and yellow colors meant to attract a young audience. Fermented in stainless steel with four to eight hours of skin contact, Cattedrale is fresh and easy to drink.

My tasting notes: Salmon in color. Aromas of candied cherry and strawberry licorice lead into a savory palate of strawberry and raspberry notes. Medium acidity. Medium finish. Alcohol: 12.5%.

Donna Viola

Donna Viola is a brand of Petroni Vini, a wine-producing family since 1865. Maria Viola Petroni, 28, is a fifth-generation wine producer. Located in the northern part of Puglia, Donna Viola produces about 4,000 to 6,000 cases a year of high-quality, single-varietal wines made only from native grape varieties. In Italy, wines are available in restaurants and hotels, not supermarkets.

Viola describes her 2019 Donna Viola Tramonto Bombino Nero IGP Puglia as “a simple wine – for a good time, after work, without pairing.” A local artist designed the vivid orange and white label of this wine whose name means “sunset.” Braille appears on the label, too.

Thin-skinned Bombino Nero matures slowly in the vineyard and is one of the last grapes to be harvested. “We pick before they are fully ripe. If we wait, we get better color and structure, but we need that acidity.” Fermented at low temperatures to preserve aromas, the wine is vinified without oak aging. Only the first-run juice is used “to present the quality of our land,” and the juice is gently pressed for only one to two hours to avoid taking too much color from these richly pigmented grapes.

My tasting notes: Peach in color. Nose is delicate with a hint of white flowers. Palate is savory with a lemon-lime, zingy quality. Medium acidity. Medium finish. Alcohol: 12.5%.

The 2019 Donna Viola Infranto IGP Puglia is 100% Nero di Troia, one of the oldest grape varieties. Possibly having Albanian roots, Nero di Troia is now common throughout north-central Apulia.

This grape is rich in anthocyanins (pigments high in antioxidant benefits) and famous for its tannins (astringent compounds inside grape skins, seeds and stems), but “nervous and difficult to work.” To produce a good wine, it needs more time than Bombino Nero. Viola gently presses the juice to soften the tannins, but there’s no oak used. The juice rests on the yeast until fermentation ends. 

The name, Infranto, means “broken.” The label represents the soil of the vineyard breaking apart to release a new wine.

My tasting notes: Coral in color. Melon, nectarine, and a hint of grass on the nose, followed by a savory, herby palate with a round mouthfeel and a dash of pepper at the end of a medium+ finish. Medium+ acidity. Alcohol: 13%.

Romaldo Greco

Azienda Agricola Romaldo Greco is a family-run winery that was founded in 1973 in Seclì, a little village in the heart of the Salento peninsula in the very south of Italy. Close to both seas, this region produces wines with a noted savory quality, minerality and freshness. The Terra Rossa soil is rich in iron and offers good drainage to vines.

Greco produces 5,000 cases of wine per year – four lines of wine from five different estates on almost 40 acres of land. At first a supplier, the family-run business now has their own brand. In 2005, the firstborn son of Romaldo, Antongiulio, joined his father in reorganizing the vineyards, introducing new varieties, and harvesting only low-yield grapes. They also chose a marketing group to reach consumers in Japan, Brazil, and Germany. They’re looking for U.S. business, too.

Gloria Greco and Alessandra Zappi joined us on the Zoom call.

“My father is 70 years old,” Gloria explains. “I wanted to help him. This is our life. My father transmits his love of the land. I wanted to continue [his legacy]. I hope the wines are well known around the world.”

The 2019 Romaldo Greco PURO Malvasia Nera IGP Salento is from the winery’s “daily line” of wines. Malvasia Nera is an old variety whose origins are unknown. From DNA analysis, it appears the parents are Negroamaro and Malvasia Bianca Lunga. The grape grows particularly well in the southern part of Apulia.

Gloria notes the cork is made from 100% sugarcane to ensure no cork taint. It’s recyclable, too.

My tasting notes: Light coral in color. Delicate and slightly floral nose hinting of rose petals. Palate is zingy with some minerality and salinity and a squeeze of lemon juice at the end of a medium+ finish. Medium+ acidity. Alcohol: 12.5%.

The 2019 Duodecim Rosato IGP Salento is from the Greco family’s classic line of wines. The name means 12 – indicating 12 hours of skin contact to make this full-bodied, 100% Negroamaro rosé. Hand-picked grapes are crushed and destemmed, then fermented in stainless-steel tanks for 15 days. Wine is aged for four months in stainless steel.

My tasting notes: Deep salmon in color. Bright cherry and raspberry dominate the nose with fresh floral aromas in the background. Medium+ palate is tangy with a persistent lemony/sour cherry taste sensation ideal for food pairing. Savory with some minerality. Long, spicy finish. Alcohol: 12.5%.

Final thoughts

Following the online tasting, the spouse and I put together a charcuterie plate consisting of salami, smoked salmon topped with goat cheese, cheddar slices, green olives, dried apricots, red raspberries and almonds. These appetizers paired perfectly with all of these Apulian rosés. Some of these wines would hold their own with grilled chicken or fish, pasta and pizza, too.

I wish I could point my American readers to retailers selling these wines that I sampled. But unfortunately, they’re not available yet in the U.S. However, you can find other Apulian rosés. One solution, of course, is to visit Puglia when the world opens up – for the sea, the sunshine, the medieval cathedrals and castles, and for these five distinctive and varied wines.