Tag: Primitivo

The wine of the week: Primitivo 2016 Amastuola – Italian Cuisine

The wine of the week: Primitivo 2016 Amastuola


An organic and territorial red wine born in Puglia, in a huge vineyard-garden near the sea

As happened to many Apulians, Don Peppino Montanaro had to leave his land to look for work and luck elsewhere. He made it, giving life to Kikau, a leading company in Europe in the sector of non-toxic paints and aluminum shutters. But the "agricultural cell", as he himself defines the love for the land that his grandparents had passed on to him, has never abandoned it, so much so that in the mid-nineties he began to invest also in the fruit and vegetable sector: with production of table grapes, luck was added another fortune. Without capital problems, you can think of turning a dream into reality and creating in Puglia, a place that has a lot to do with magic.

We are a Crispiano, in territory known as the "hundred masserie" and Amastuola, purchased by Don Peppino in 2003, was an important agricultural center already in the fifteenth century. From the terraces of the company the gaze sweeps over what is the unique peculiarity of the estate, the garden-vineyard, created by the Spanish landscape gardener Ferrando Caruncho from 2003 to 2006: it is a single body of 101 hectares, with the rows arranged in parallel waves, interspersed with flower beds with ancient olive trees and surrounded by five kilometers of dry stone walls. The particular arrangement and exposure of the plants allows the wind to circulate in the right way, thus ensuring healthy grapes that can be brought to an optimal maturation; the rest is done by the mineral-rich soils that ensure the wines have the right flavor.

The first harvest dates back to 2010 and production now stands at 150,000 bottles a year, all certified organic.

The primitive 2016 is the simplest red of the company, as well as the wine that best represents its philosophy (its older brothers are the Lamarossa 2015 and the Centosassi 2015): it is a very territorial label, with explosive hints of wild berries and plum, which combine with the scent of the violet and some salty notes, which reminds the proximity of the sea. Thanks to the harvest of the grapes carried out in three times, it is a fresh Primitivo, very drinkable and with an amazing relationship between quality and price.
From 2017 Amastuola also includes a wine resort with design rooms in the old farmhouse and an excellent restaurant where you can taste the Apulian flavors revisited with creativity. One more reason to plan the visit.

Why now: it is a very suitable red to accompany the meat dishes of the Easter tradition.
As did: after fermentation with maceration at a controlled temperature of three weeks, the wine is aged for 18 months, partly in oak barrels, partly in steel.
To combine with: baked lasagna, meatballs with sauce, lamb and roast kid.
Serve it at: 16 ° C.
Price: 10 euros

amastuola.it

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The wine of the week: Primitivo di Manduria sweet natural 2017 Varvaglione 1921 – Italian Cuisine

The wine of the week: Primitivo di Manduria sweet natural 2017 Varvaglione 1921


In Puglia, old vineyards in alberello, the sea and the sirocco wind give a sweet red wine of great charm

A glass of wine tells many stories. It speaks of a territory, of a vine, of a specific productive culture. And then he speaks, so much, also of those who produce it. Chicca, for example, tells of Francesca, a young woman who is completing her studies in enology in Udine, the youngest of the Varvaglione boys and the last one who still has to graduate. The other two, Marzia is Angel, already working in the company, alongside his father Cosimo and mother's Maria Teresa, and represent the fourth generation of a family that produces wine for almost a century.

«My husband wanted to dedicate a wine to each member of our family, says Maria Teresa (her is Primadonna, a chardonnay aged in wood with ample and generous aromas). «Il Chicca, the only Varvaglione company label to be protected by Docg, is a Primitivo di Manduria … Sweet and natural like you.

We are at Leporano, a handful of kilometers from Taranto, in the heart of the production area of ​​this dark berry vine, which is the most famous of Puglia and which also appeals to Americans and Chinese. Here the vineyards grow again to sapling, an ancient system of breeding that resists in some areas of Southern Italy. The plants are low, twisted and very, very old. The sea is very close and the sirocco wind, which blows to the ground, brings so much salinity to the land. Just this salt, this scent of sea, is found in the wines produced by Varvaglione and gives the Chicca a burst of flavor. The sweet part is instead entrusted to the long maturation of the grapes, which are left on the plant until they begin to dry, so the water evaporates and the sugars are concentrated. The result is an almost chewing red, which smells of cherry, ripe plum and black currant; the short aging in wood enriches it with a light spicy note, which adds a little complexity to a glass that you drink with ease and pleasure, at the end of dinner or in combination with a blue cheese platter.

Why now: It's perfect for after dinner in front of the fireplace.

As did: after the harvest, which takes place between the beginning and mid-October, the vinification takes place with a long maceration of the grapes at a controlled temperature, which stops spontaneously at 15 degrees alcohol. The wine then ages in 10 hectolitre barrels for about 8 months.

To combine with: sweets made with almonds, chocolate, blue cheeses.

Serve it to: 12-14 ° C

Price: 15 euros

varvaglione.com

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