Producers
Masseria Masciullo
The Masciullo cellar is a small realty born from the stables of the farm, which is totally organically operated by the Zullo-Dimaglie family. They’ve always been farmers and with the passion for agriculture, purchased the property in 1996 and in the following years refurbished the old buildings and improved the 45 hectares of surrounding vineyards. All starting from the study, the care and the respect for the land and the vines. The Masseria Masciullo is a building from the ‘600 located 7km from Brindisi, in the north of the Salentina Peninsula.
The farm is located at the center of an organic compound o approximately 100 hectares, planted with different culture, whose main role is up to the grape variety. Many are the indigenous variety grown and the Chardonnay is the only international grape, safeguarded for the unique characteristics that it expresses in this area.
The raw material is maniacally selected before vinification to obtain the maximum quality.
Puglia
If Italy is the largest producer of wine in the world, it is largely thanks to Puglia, which produces more than any other Italian region, about 17% of the total!
Viticulture is deeply rooted in local traditions but until 20 or so years a large proportion of Puglia’s grapes were used to add “substance” to wines produced in the rest of Italy and France. Thankfully this is no longer the case and Puglia now boasts 25 different DOC areas and some excellent vintages of its own.
The most widely grown grape variety is Negroamaro (literally ‘black bitter’). Almost exclusively cultivated in Puglia, Negroamaro is used to produce some of the region’s best wines, including Salice Salentino. The epithet of most famous grape, however, goes to Primitivo, whose wines, including the Primitivo di Manduria, are generally high in alcohol content and full in body. Curiously, the Primitivo grape shares its genetic make-up with California’s Zinfandel varietal.
White wines in Puglia count for less than 20% of the overall production but are gradually growing in importance. Local grapes such as Bombino Bianco, Bianco d’Alessano and Verdeca rub shoulders with international varieties including Chardonnay and Sauvignon to produce some excellent results.
