Grape Variety and Territory

In Italy in 1963 the first national provision to regulate quality wine production.

The above mentioned document establishes the concept of Designation of Origin, codifying its meaning and strengthening the concept of its link with the territory.

A system of denominations based on the grape variety, which should guarantee the quality of what would be found in the bottle.

Historically, for some vines the link with their territory has become very strong. For instance, we could think aboutSagrantino and Montefalco or Verdicchio and Jesi or Matelica; A bond that comes from afarandfinds its engine and strength in the territory-vine dichotomy.

Furthermore, in France wine holds a link with the company that produced it as well. A great example of it is Chateauneuf du Pape, produced by dozens of varieties that year after year, in different percentages, uniquely characterize it.

In Salento, the current situation is dissimilar. Essentially, finding common and specific characters of Negroamaro or Primitivo in ten bottles of ten different companies is very difficult.

Negroamaro is often accompanied by Malvasia, or other international vines that the specification allows to use, Thus making it more seductive on the nose, with a softer taste and a darker or brighter color, up to distorting its original taste and peculiarities.

There is no shortage of proposals to make this more transparent. A solution could be to not only bring the grape variety close to the territory, but also to identify the characteristics of a territory itself.

In this way, the excellence of a denomination directly linked to the territory would be enhanced.Moreover, the producers would share the common goal of enhancing and realising with the utmost commitment a wine of absolute excellence.

Communicating not only a grape variety but a territory and a tradition.

The indications provided by a wine produced from different provinces are not homogeneous. This happens because its production area is very large, therefore it is easy to find completely different territories, soils and climates.

A subzone possesses a greater homogeneity, transmitting recognisable characters to the wine, with a much common thread between the various labels.

So the “Salento” denomination. Whether it’s Cabernet or Negroamaro or Syrah or accompanied in a blend!

To conclude, the winning combination for grape variety and territory depends on the territory itself! If the latterowns the right abilities can surely do a lot for many vines, indigenous or not.