uilt on three hills in an area extending from the final ridges of the Murge Mountains to the Adriatic Sea, the town of Ostuni enjoys a privileged position among verdant hills dotted with trulli, scattered whitewashed houses and olive orchards and overlooking sandy beaches.Founded in prehistoric times, the town was once inhabited by the Messapians and Greeks, who probably give the community its name by calling it "astuneon" or "new city." The are is dotted with many relics of past civilizations. Among the olive orchards, there are many grottoes and crypts as well as prehistoric wells and dolmens that are monuments of the area's megalithic cultures.
The wine of Ostuni is made in two versions: Bianco and Ottavianello. The Bianco is obtained principally from Impigno and Francavilla grapes. Impigno was imported into the Martina Franca zone toward the beginning of the present century by a grower from Ostuni named Impigno. The Francavilla variety is fairly popular with growers in many communes in the white-wine production zones of Brindisi province. It is less extensively cultivated-to the point that it is disappearing-around Francavilla Fontana, its place of origin, where it is known in the local dialect as Francavidda.
The Ottavianello type is obtained mostly from the variety of the same name. Known in France under the name Cinsault, the variety came from the Ottaviano area in Campania. It was imported into Apulia where it was first cultivated in the area of San Vito dei Normanni. It is generally used in combination with Negro Amaro, as is the case of the Ostuni Ottavianello.
