Vigneti del Salento Zolla Primitivo di Manduria DOP

The grapes were gently pressed and cooled to 10ºC for a maceration period of 8-10 days, with regular pumping over. Yeasts were added to start alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in stainless-steel tanks, which took place at controlled temperatures. The wine was then transferred to second and third use oak barriques for six to eight months before bottling.

This is the Puglia venture of the Farnese group (responsible for Gran Sasso, Vesevo and Tufarello ). The wines were made at two wineries in the province of Taranto on the western flank of Salento. The style of the wines - fresh whites, soft and generous reds - will be familiar to those who buy their other wines, as winemaker Filippo Baccalaro is the driving force behind this new label. Filippo, a native of Piemonte, has been working in Puglia for almost two decades. He was attracted by the rich, ripe flavours of the fruit, and the ability to capture these flavours with minimal use of technology and a lot of know-how.

Filippo has the latter, as is illustrated by these wines. The star wines are, of course, those made from native grapes like Verdeca, Negroamaro and, of course, Primitivo.