he name of the wine is that of a small community situated to the north of Lecce in an area of vineyards and olive orchards with scattered farmhouses and ancient watchtowers.Salice Salentino, in red and rosé versions, is made from Negro Amaro, for the most part, and Malvasia Nera di Brindisi and Malvasia Nera di Lecce.
The vineyards of the southern part of Apulia have been planted almost exclusively in Negro Amaro since the 6th century BC. The wine obtained from Negro Amaro ranges in shading 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.
In the Salento nearly two centuries ago, another variety known as Negro Dolce was also widely cultivated. Its characteristics were exactly the opposite of Negro Amaro's.
The other varieties belong to the family of the Malvasias, of Greek origin. They arrived in Apulia from the Peloponissos and, particularly, the town of Monemvasia. Today, two types are widely cultivated, the Malvasia Nera di Lecce and the Malvasia Nera di Brindisi, and they have many characteristics in common. The difference in the flavor of the two Malvasias' musts is due more to soil and climatic conditions than to heredity.
Since few years the DOC Salice Salentino allows the production of three new wines. The Aleatico Dolce is traditional of the area and is a typical Apulian sweet and liqueur wine obtained from the Aleatico di Puglia grape, produced in most parts of Apulia, although output is greatest on the Salentine peninsula. The Salice Salentino Bianco, made at least 70 per cent from Chardonnay, and the Salice Salentino Pinot Bianco, belong to the last generation of wines obtained from varieties successfully introduced in the last decades.
