Puglia
Puglia, also known as Apulia, is a wonderful narrow region comprising the heel of southern Italy‘s boot. The terroir is influenced by a sunny, warm and dry Mediterranean climate with breezes from the Adriatic sea and fertile soil rich in limestone. The incredibly diverse geography of the region produces wines that are endlessly varied in style, especially for the reds; fruit forward, ripe and full bodied. Over the past few years, Puglia has gone through some major changes in the quality of their wines due to caring producers and new regulations.
The wine region is divided into three subregions:
The Northern area, from Foggia to Bari with red, white, and sparkling wines. Producers here have focused on making wines and local grapes like Nero di Troia, Bombino Nero and Bombino Bianco make for delicious drinking.
The Central area includes the Valle d’Itria, with a lot of indigenous grapes and more indicated for white wines. Typical of the area are Fiano, Minutolo, Verdeca and Falanghina.
The South area from Brindisi to Santa Maria di Leuca, known as Salento, is the home of the flagship grape varieties in Puglia, the Primitivo, also knows as Zinfandel, and the Negroamaro.