Italiano
Focus on Salento
A press tour organized by the Consortium of Salice Salentino allowed us to deepen our knowledge of this land and learn about the path laid out by the producers for its wines.
From the Adriatic to the Ionian Sea, from the province of Lecce to Brindisi, crossing the municipalities of Salice Salentino, Guagnano, Veglie, Campi Salentino, Cellino San Marco, San Pancrazio Salentino and San Donaci, one goes in search of a landscape of rare beauty dominated by dry stone walls and vineyards, cradle of the Salice Salentino Dop and Salento Igp denomination wines.
Negroamaro is the main grape variety, with a small addition of Malvasia nera is the basis of most red and rosé versions, surprising and conquering even the most demanding palates and enhancing the most unusual pairings and meals from aperitif to dessert. These are powerful wines with an intense and impenetrable color with notes of black fruits, roasted coffee and goudron.
Viticulture in Salento dates back to the time of the Greeks and, passing through the Romans, has come to our times. The sea plays a determining and characterizing role, mitigating the climate, sanctioning the sapidity of the closest soils, bringing winds and scents, the soil in turn is distinguished by a sandy texture capable of giving rise to wines rich in extracts. This favorable pedoclomatic mix also makes the area suited to the production of great rosés: in 1943 Leone de Castris' Five Roses was born, the first rosé bottled in Italy and the first attempt in Apulia to unite the processing and transformation of the product with bottling. A great challenge for the time.
Coordinated by the Consorzio del Salice Salentino, we took a nice tour among the area's producers. This of Salice Salentino is a dynamic and enterprising Consortium, whose mission is to enhance and promote an area with a millenary winemaking tradition by adopting marketing and communication strategies in synergy with all the players in the economic fabric to trigger an all-round process of valorization and innovation. The Consortium-founded in 2003 by a group of producers determined to give voice to the technical production specification of the same name dated 1976 and to strengthen the inseparable binomial between terroir and vine variety-represents about 80 percent of the entire Salice Salentino supply chain with 42 wineries engaged in the production of 110 thousand hectoliters of wine resulting from 160 thousand quintals of grapes produced. Today the presidency is held by Damiano Reale.
Restyling of the specification is in progress, the request/need has come from below i.e. from the producers. The minimum percentage of Negroamaro in reds and rosés is going from 75% to 85%. As for white Salice Salentino, Verdeca is added to Chardonnay, Fiano and Pinot Bianco. Added to charmat sparkling wines are the classic methods, which must age at least 12 months in the bottle, including 9 months on the lees. The months of aging for the Riserva mention (at least 6 months of which must be in wood) drops to 18 months, and Salice Salentino Superiore Doc makes its entrance, which requires 12 months of aging, no specification on the type of aging and the possibility of mentioning the vineyard of origin on the label.
Teamwork and collaboration with the other Protection Consortia could lead to another important collective achievement in the area of Igt. From the Salento Igt specification it is clear that the production area includes the entire administrative territory of the provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto, it is possible to join the already existing denomination by shortening the time of bureaucracy instead of establishing a new one.
The Salice Salentino consortium already in 2014 under the presidency of Angelo Maci obtained the enlargement of the statute with the inclusion of the Igt Salento denomination," says Eugenio Manieri, agronomist and technical director of the Salice Salentino Consortium. "It was an ethical choice, the aim of the current board of directors was to start a new path and promote our territory, which for years has been gaining acclaim through its gastronomic excellence, its wines, its culture, its farms, its coasts and its seas. Today we are focused on the PDO Salice Salentino wines that have obtained Erga Omnes recognition, if we were able to obtain it for the Igt Salento wines as well, we would all take an important step forward, within a short time we would achieve the representativeness of 40 percent of winemakers. Joining forces is a common interest."
These are the wines that impressed me during the tour. Click on the name to open the tab:
