Cisternino, Puglia, Italy. Saturday 05-July-2023.
This was our third Borgo DiVino in Tour and it happily coincided with a visit from our friends Tim and Sarah who are staying with us for a week. The same routine as previously: you buy a ticket, get a glass and holder, but this year instead of a bunch of vouchers we were given a QR code. Rather like previous occasions, many of the exhibitors were not bothering to count how many glasses we'd had. Most were happily topping us up without scanning.
We got there around 7:30pm and in typical Italian style where things start late half the stall holders were still setting up. They had a number of posters explaining the wine regions, wine making process, etc. and this useful wine vocabulary.
The game plan was to go round the stallholders trying whites and rosés then do a second circuit sampling the reds. Most of the producers were Puglia based with a couple of outliers, including one from the Veneto. We did not make any notes so these descriptions are done from memory.
Our first stop was at Scarpello based in San Pancrazio Salentino, south of Brindisi where we tasted two delicious rosé, one made from susumaniello and the other from negroamaro.
Next stop was Terra di Maria, a family run winery based south of Foggia where we tried a verdeca and two rosé made from susumaniello and primitivo. A real family business - Maria is the mother after whom the estate is named, her son is the man pouring the wine here. Also helping out were his sister and girlfriend, all featured in their brochure. He explained, and showed us a video, of how they plant legumes between the vines and then leave the roots as green manure.
Cantina di Guagnano is a cooperative based near Lecce. First circuit we tried a lovely sparkling rosé made from negroamaro and later sampled their reds.
We had a long chat with the whole family and especially the owner’s daughter who is an architect with an interest in Celtic languages. Mary was able to recommend a book "L'Orso Bianco Era Nero" (The white bear was black) and I told her about my father and the Coventry baths.
Angelo Maffione is based north of Bari on the coast. Here we tried two Malvasia: one white, one rosé. Often found as part of a blend, but here made alone. We all preferred the rosé made from malvasia nero.
Cantina Nistri just outside Taranto. A very jolly stall holder, he was happy to have just one QR scan and share his pride in his wines with all four of us.
"40 Are" from Manduria produce a very dark rosé from primitivo which was a bit too pungent for my palete.
We tasted at other stalls including a malvasia bianco from Conti Zecca, a bombino nero rosé from Torre Vento, three refreshing sparkling wines from the Veneto and several more but the memory is hazy.
Then back to Cantina di Guagnano to taste their reds. We tasted two of their negroamaro and were amazed at the difference. Their standard negroamaro “Naqì” 2023, was good but the single vineyard negroamaro “Magliano” 2022 was superb. Only 6,550 bottles made. Two of which were duly purchased - a bargain at €15 each (discounted for the festival).
Finally back to Scarpello to try their reds, both delicious but Sarah and Mary preferred the negroamaro and Tim and I the primitivo. So we just had to buy a bottle of each!
To entertain the crowds there was a guy playing piano who we had seen a couple of days before outside San Cataldo. It may look like a baby grand but it actually packs down into a large suitcase. Instagram: iosonoaugusto.
After that it was a late supper at Osteria Piatti Chiari in Piazza Pellegrino Rossi.
Our haul from the night: three negroamaro and one primitivo.
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