Cantine Polvanera

Cantine Polvanera’s History and Philosophy

The DOC area in the southern part of the province of Bari, where Gioia del Colle is situated, has been a wine area of considerable interest for many years. The Primitivo is the distinguishing grape of this territory and very different to the same variety at nearby Manduria. This is mainly due to the climate and soil. Gioia del Colle, like much of Apulia, is characterised by a warm climate, but here the vines are planted at 400 metres above sea level, with significantly lower evening and night temperatures than Manduria below.

Another factor that characterises this area is the soil, composed of limestone and a layer of ferrous red earth. The owner and winemaker is Filippo Cassano, who has always been aware of the potential of the Primitivo in this area; he decided to opt for a pure form of winemaking and thus magnify these local grapes and recognition of the territory. He also owns a few hectares of old, tree grown vines and, about 15 years ago, began to improve the maturation levels in various plots on his over 120 hectares of vineyards planted with Primitivo, Aleatico, Aglianico, Minutolo, Moscato, Falanghina, Marchione and Bianco d’Alessano grapes.

The wines of Cantine Polvanera

The results have often been often amazing, with rich, warm, plentiful and alcoholic wines, that confirm that the Primitivo is a great accumulator of sugar. The vines, all grown organically, differ greatly from each other, them according to their ages and the type of soil where they are grown; the altitudes in fact vary between 300 to 450 metres. This leads to strong differences in temperature, which unquestionably give personality to the entire collection. Polvanera has decided to preserve the original heritage of its grapes by exclusively maturing and aging them in various stages in stainless steel and the bottle, in order to avoid covering the natural scents of the Primative grapes with notes of wood.

The best wines, boasting a 14°, 16° and 17° alcohol content, showed their worth from the very first productions, attracting buyers and other growers, in fact, many other wine growers have followed his exemplary path of success. The names on its labels are inspired by the alcohol content: the 14, a vibrant red, with a clear taste, the 16, an extremely balanced wine with a blend of fruitiness and acidity, the 17, cool, stylish, an important flavour and an endless final bouquet. The last in the line is the Bianco IGT Puglia, Minutolo, delicate on the palate and faintly citrus to the nose.