📍 Salento

Salento is a peninsula at the very south of Apulia, the "heel" of the Italian boot. It covers the whole province of Lecce, almost all of the province of Brindisi (except a few towns in the north) and the south-eastern part of the province of Taranto. It is washed by the Adriatic and Ionian seas on two sides, and summers are hot and dry. Salento is part of Apulia.

This is the kingdom of the red grape Negroamaro. It gives dark, rich reds and juicy rosés. Beside it grows Primitivo, the same variety as California's Zinfandel; it is used for Primitivo di Manduria, a full-bodied red, and a sweet version also exists.

Salento has many small appellations: Salice Salentino, Copertino, Alezio, Leverano, Matino, Nardò, Squinzano, Brindisi, Galatina and Lizzano. All of them mostly make red and rosé wines, with a little white. The general name "Salento" is used for simpler wines from the whole area.

Each appellation differs slightly in soils and in closeness to the sea, but the grapes remain the same. Salento is not an administrative but a cultural and historical region; it is described as a sub-peninsula of the Italian peninsula.