Discover Puglia Wine: Why the region is loved by winemakers and drinkers

Join the crew as we jump into Puglia, Italy's best-kept secret! Located in the South-East of Italy and known for its rich winemaking and cultural history, it’s the perfect location for our winemakers over at the Tenuta Viglione winery, which was established over 85 years ago. But what makes it the perfect location for our wines, and many others?

Where Is Puglia?

Map By TUBS - CC BY-SA 3.0

Puglia is located in the South-East of Italy, and makes up the ‘heel’ of Italy’s boot shape. You may also recognise this as Apulia, which is the same region, just the name more commonly used in English. Being in the very south of Italy, it is exposed to a true mediterranean climate which is one of the reasons why it produces such vibrant and full-flavoured wines. Temperatures often reach up to 40 °C in Summer, but the region is sun-kissed all year round, making it an ideal holiday destination for those chasing that tan. The hot, dry land is hit by cool sea breezes from the Adriatic and the Ionian seas, regulating temperatures for vineyards. These factors, alongside the sandy, fertile soil that is created by the climate, make it an ideal location for producing wine.

The Wine

The temperatures, soil and seas all help Puglia produce some interesting and flavour packed grape varieties. The sandy soil allows room for the roots to grow deep into the dirt and soak up all the nutrients that will give the grape, and eventually the wine, it’s big flavours. Our white Puglia wine is the Fiano. A fresh and bright grape variety, fuelled by the sunlight to promise floral aromas and fruity, tropical flavours. Find out everything about the Fiano grape variety here.

The Copper Crew’s Puglian red wine of choice is the Negroamaro. A typically less well-known grape variety, it delivers a full bodied red, typical of the region, with a mix of cherry, blackberries and plums with some natural spice notes to finish it off. You can discover more about the Negroamaro here. Puglia is well-known for it’s full bodied reds, with Primitivo being the flagship grape of the region, a classic grape variety that also has flavours of blackberries and dark fruits.

However, this red grape variety is also used to make the Copper Crew Rosato, alongside the up and Negroamaro, Nero di Troia and Aleatico grape varieties. This blend of unique grape varieties and flavours allows Puglia to produce unique rosatos (the Italian for rosé) as packed with flavour as the reds and whites of the region.

Highlights of the region

Puglia has outstanding beauty with golden beaches longer than you could imagine, whitewashed villages that appear straight from fairytales, mixed into the rolling hills that go on for as far as the eye can see. If it’s natural, breathtaking sights you’re after then go no further than Puglia’s extensive cave system. The most famous being the Grotte di Castellana, a huge cavern with impressive stalagmite formations and a fairytale like hole at the top for the light to come through. Excursions through this cave, and others, will take you from the nearby town of Bari and through winding corridors and caves.

However, Puglia’s beauty isn’t just limited to it’s natural landscapes. The region is also famous for its buildings and towns made from the white limestone that is found on the cliffs of Puglia, breathtaking sights in themselves. When this limestone is taken and crafted into entire towns however, a whole new experience is created, and none are more famous and popular than the Trulli of Alberobello. Alberobello is located in the centre of Puglia, and features trulli which are iconic limestone huts with conical roofs covering the landscape.

Another example of Puglia’s unique architecture is the infamous Castel del Monte. This Castle is impressive not only in stature, with its 26 metre tall, white walls, but also impressive in its construction. The Castel del Monte was constructed around 1240, and is a perfect octagon. Each side of the structure is identical in length, with evenly distributed bastions on each corner of the octagon, requiring an impressive level of mathematics and geometry, especially for the time. Definitely a sight worth seeing if you get the chance.

Cuisine

It’s no secret the Italian cuisine is some of the most-loved worldwide, but Puglia has its own unique cuisine and flair. Puglia is the olive oil capital of Italy, and accounts for 40% of the country’s entire olive oil production. With good olive oil, comes good bread. They are especially good at focaccia, an airy bread that is typically topped with tomatoes and salt and has a beautiful golden crust. If you haven’t tried focaccia you’re missing out. It also makes the perfect food pairing for a Fiano, a Puglian match made in heaven!

To go along with your bread, you can also have the region’s most iconic cheese, burrata! Some people mix up Burrata with Mozzarella, largely because of the similar consistencies and tastes. This is down to the fact that burrata actually has an outer shell of mozzarella, however is filled with stracciatella and cream. This creamy cheese pairs perfectly with the freshness and fruitiness of The Copper Crew Rosato.

Puglia also has significant pasta making pedigree. They make it slightly different to the North of Italy by avoiding the use of eggs, perfect for any vegans out there. The signature pasta shape of Puglia is Orecchiette, or what you may know as ‘pasta shells’. Another classic Puglian dish is Assassin’s Spaghetti, a spicy and flavour-packed pasta dish with crispy and soft textures, achieved by slightly singeing some of the spaghetti in a frying pan. This dish is easy to make and is certainly one to remember, if you fancy giving it a go then have a go at this simple 35 minute recipe.

Puglia truly is Italy’s best secret, and now you know why Puglia wine is so good, what food to have with it and a bit of backstory about the region. If you want to try some Puglia wine, shop our range here.