Puglia - day 2

 

Cantina Coppola - near Gallipoli

On day 2 I  visited 4 wineries. Copolla was the first one. It turns out it's been around since 1489 and it has nothing to do with the Copolla winery in Napa. I usually try to avoid wineries that are 100% marketing and 0% good quality wine and I was afraid that was the case here.

They, like many old wineries, used to sell their wine in bulk to be blended by winemakers in the more northern part of Europe until after the 2nd World War. And then they started bottling their rose wine. And then the rest.

And a few very interesting points.

First, they have better Negro Amaro than Primitivo (at least according to my taste). They have a Negro Amaro that is 100% done in stainless steel, with no oak, which they start serving after 3 years of aging. And it turns out, as for many wines from the region, that after you take the time to let the wine open, it's a very nice aromatic, not too acid (despite the grape and stainless) wine. Name Doxi.

And even more interesting, they actually recommend aging it, even if it has not touched oak, for 10-20 years. I bought a bought of 2012 one as well. I am curious to do a vertical testing.

I also bought a few more whites, which they also recommend aging, also verticals. And some oaked wines as well, and as usual for this winery, a few verticals. 

For each of their wines, they still had 2012, 2013, 2014, and for some of them even 2007 or so.

100% worth the visit! Must go. Very nice people too.

Cantina Fiorentino

Here the wines I tried were ok. They also had a "port" like wine, but I thought it was closer to a sherry. However, the fun part was that they were serving wine wholesale using pumps that looked like gas station pumps. They had 4 wines by the pump: White, Rose, Primitivo and Negro Amaro.

The most interesting part? their bulk wine is 1.5EUR per liter. At the time of writing gas here is about 2 EUR per litre. So wine is cheaper than gas. I wonder if you can run a vehicle with wine ;)  While I was there for 30 min or so 3 or 4 local people came in with 5L plastic transparent jugs and bought their wine... I wonder what they do with it that they buy 5L at a time in 1 container. No way you can finish it before it turns sour unless it's for an event perhaps? Or for their pools? ;)  Have you ever bathed in wine yet ?

Origano - wine tasting and lunch

I really recommend this little restaurant for lunch. They also offer wine pairings ( more than just tasting) but the pairings of course match the food. They had quite a few nice whites. I didn't get to try their reds because of what I ordered for lunch. Perhaps a future time.

However, the lunch alone is worth the drive. Beautiful, clean, hard to find LOL, And a lot of charm in the backyard. 

And last but not least 

Castel di Salve

Also, an older winery that was purchased by the present family in the 1920s I think. I understood that the present owner has a Duke title. 

I also strongly recommend to visit! 

First and most pleasant: the owner, the father, stopped by at the beginning to say hi and chat. They used to sell the wine in bulk. Then via distributors, for 1 or 2 EUR per liter. And then they said: why not just sell it directly to consumers for a whooping 8.5EUR a bottle? And here they are.

The son, who did our tastings, was very nice, and of course very knowledgeable. He did some training in Champagne and brought some fun ideas ( check their brochure that has pictures of the wine bottles with the items that give the aromas that are in the wine). And between him and a charming lady who gives tours, they can do tours in English, French, Italian of course, Spanish, Portuguese, and German! Very well-organized tours. With pens, water, light snacks. Exactly like in the US. Must visit!

Oh and of course great wines. I particularly liked a few things here :

1. Their usage of the Verdeca is very interesting. You can see the aromas and the flavors this grape gives very cleanly and intensely.

2. And the same style exercise with the Malvasia Nera. They make it pure. They blend it. And you can learn and understand it very clearly.

Very reasonable prices as well. Must visit!