The production
The two white wines, unique for their color and pleasant taste, are Fiano-Malvasia that is typical of the area of Alberobello and Valle d’Itria and Chardonnay del Salento. The latter is not a typicalvine varietybut it is perfectly adapted to our land and our climate, which make this wine extremely interesting , by exalting in a pleasant way the characteristic fragrance of Chardonnay.
The five red wines are full-bodied, fruity, with a good structure and character. Only a few hectoliters are intended to become “Riserva”, given the limited quantity produced. Primitivo is the Apulian wine par-excellence.It is very popular and appreciated everywhere thanks to its unmistakable taste that makes it unique. We produce two different IGT (Typical Geographical Indication) Primitivo wines: Primitivo IGT Puglia, typical of the area of Gioia del Colle – Acquaviva – Alberobello and Rosso Primitivo IGT Salento, typical of Salento area, in addition to Primitivo di Manduria that is a very pleasant red wine, particularly precious with its alcohol content of 14% vol. Together with the three Primitivo wines, there are also two Negroamaro wines typical of Salento area.
Primitivo wine has an ancient history whose origins are in the Mediterranean region and beyond. Primitivo wine was initially defined as “primaticcio”, which refers to the grape’s tendency to ripen earlier than other varieties (end of August/beginning of September). It has probable Illyrian origins coming from the Balkan people devoted to the cultivation of grapevine. The Phoenicians commercialized it in the whole Mediterranean region and it found the ideal conditions for growing in the south of Italy, thanks to dry climate and calcareous soil. In the XVIII century, primaticcio was imported from Dalmatia to Puglia. At the beginning, it was known as “Zagarese”. The origin of the current name dates back tothe late XVIII century when Don Filippo Indellicati, a priest from Gioia del Colle, a town 25 km far from Alberobello, selected the vine variety that ripened earlier, by giving it the name of Primitivo. The priest managed to give life to the first monoculture historically known. The cultivation of Primitivo spread from Gioia del Colle and Acquaviva throughout the neighboring towns such as Alberobello and the provinces of Taranto, Brindisi and Lecce. Primitivo wine excelled in the Murge area but it reached higher levels of excellence in the sunny region of Salento and around Manduria and Maruggio. This vine variety arrived in Manduria when he Countess Sabini of Altamura married Don Tommaso Schiavoni – Tafuri of Manduria. The noblewoman brought from her hometown some rooted vines as part of the dowry. During the XIX century, thePrimitivo spread throughout Puglia.
Primitivo was the first vine variety to overcome the Apulian borders and to make the wines of this region very well-known. Thanks to the numerous researches, Primitivo grapes are now well known. Moreover, other varieties with the same genetic features as the Primitivo grape have been found, such as the Zinfandel that is the undisputed symbol of the Californian and North American enology. The common characteristics between the Zinfandel grape and the Primitivo grape were accidentally discovered in 1967, when a Californian teacher, who was on holiday in Puglia, enjoyed somePrimitivo wine and realized that it reminded him the Zinfandel. This explains the reason why Primitivo is thought to derive from the combination between Zinfandel and the Croatian vine variety called Dobricic.
Negroamaro is one of the most famous wines in Puglia, together with Primitivo. Unlike Primitivo, Negroamaro ripens late: the grape harvest occurs between the second and the third decade of September. The origins of Negroamaro are uncertain, too, even though many scholars think that this grape variety comes from Greece. The origins of its name are not certain, either. The most likely hypothesis are two: the term Negroamaro is supposed to derive either from the local dialect, or from the ancient Greek and Latin. As far as the first hypothesis is concerned, Negroamaro is supposed to derive form the words “niuro” and “maru” (black and bitter), by highlighting the dark color of the grape and of the wine, as well as its slightly bitter taste. According to the second hypothesis, Negroamaro derives from the Latin word “niger” and from the ancient Greek term “mavro” ; both words mean black, by indicating a dark black-skinned wine grape.
Negroamaro variety is presentmainlyin the Salento area and it is used to produce the red wines denominated DOC Salice Salentino, by blending it with MalvasiaNera variety, that is the Riserva wine that “TenutaMaranna” decided to make. “TenutaMaranna” proved itself able to use pure Negroamaro, by bottling a single variety Rosso Negroamaro. Negroamaro has a good content of natural coloring substances. This quality is characteristic of all its wines and gives them bright and intense colors, in addition to a medium-low transparence. The content of polyphenols is good, too and they give wines a medium astringency that sometimes can become particularly strong, especially after the fermentation and maturation in barrels. Negroamaro winesare full-bodied and the content of alcohol, sometimes even higher than 14% vol., is not negligible.
From the hills of the Apulian trulli land and age-old olive trees, it is extracted an extra virgin olive oil of superior category.
All the olives are rigorously harvested from the tree and in twenty-four hour period are pressed.
“TenutaMaranna” proposes only the finest and selected wines and oils.