Puglia – Italy's second biggest wine-producing region
In Italy’s deep south lies the country’s second biggest wine-producing region. Puglia has 85,125 hectares of vineyard, producing more than 6 million hectolitres of wine each year, which is some 14% of total Italian production.
Primitivo in Puglia
DNA research that identified zinfandel and primitivo as the same grape variety boosted interest in Puglia of this variety since the 1990s and has led to great quality wines being produced.
Gioia del Colle
Gioia del Colle is a DOC in the middle of Puglia, located on the limestone plateau of Murge, inland and south from Bari, which rises to around 450m above sea level, giving an element of temperature moderation in the otherwise sunny south of Italy.
Polvanera
Filippo Cassano owns vineyards around Gioia del Colle on the Murge plateau, some 300 to 450m above sea level. He farms 40 hectares, 25 of which are his own, including some 40-50 year old primitivo bush vines, or alberelli, his grandfather planted, directly into the superficial rock.
