he wine is produced, in red and rosé versions, from Negro Amaro and, in smaller measure, Malvasia Nera and Sangiovese grapes. Negro Amaro is clearly the best variety for the production of the typical rosé wine of the Salento. In this case, it is vinified in combination with small percentages of Malvasia Nera, which soften the frequently forthright flavor of the principal grape. The wine obtained from Negro Amaro ranges in shadings from ruby to garnet red and its flavor features a pleasantly bitterish vein. Because of those constant characteristics and the black hue of the clusters, the variety was called "niuru maru" in the local dialect. The name was gradually transformed into Negro Amaro.
The Malvasia Nera has a cluster of average size that is generally conical in form and its grapes are spherical in shape and purplish black in color. Their skins are pruinose and consistent and their pulp sweet and meaty. The grapes ripen toward the end of September and the first decade of October.
The Sangiovese family is of Tuscan origin. It has various synonyms but it can generally be divided into two types: Sangiovese Grosso and Sangiovese Piccolo. Both are adapted to quite varied soil conditions but the quality of their grapes differs considerably from one zone to the next. Their production is abundant and constant and both are grown fairly extensively in Apulia. However, they are rarely vinified alone, being nearly always combined, as in the case of the Matino, with other varieties of red grapes.
This page was written by Stefano Milioni. Background image and most photos in this section courtesy of Giuliano Bugialli, all right reserved (see Copyright and Credits).
he wine is produced, in red and rosé versions, from Negro Amaro and, in smaller measure, Malvasia Nera and Sangiovese grapes. Negro Amaro is clearly the best variety for the production of the typical rosé wine of the Salento. In this case, it is vinified in combination with small percentages of Malvasia Nera, which soften the frequently forthright flavor of the principal grape. The wine obtained from Negro Amaro ranges in shadings from ruby to garnet red and its flavor features a pleasantly bitterish vein. Because of those constant characteristics and the black hue of the clusters, the variety was called "niuru maru" in the local dialect. The name was gradually transformed into Negro Amaro.