A native vine of Puglia , Negroamaro is the surviving vine of Salento, the famous heel of the Italian boot. Today, 30,000 hectares are planted despite the producers' decision to withdraw a quarter of the vines from the vineyard in the 1980s and 1990s.
Negroamaro, characteristics
Mauve-blue in colour, Negroamaro is moderately tannic, slightly bitter and very full-bodied. It produces a dry red with an interesting aging potential (maximum 10 years from the harvest date). It can be drunk young, but not for at least four years to appreciate its potential.
The origin of this vine is rather vague, no writing from the last century mentions any source because the interest, at the time, was concentrated on foreign wines, French in particular, and not on local wines. By word of mouth, one hears that it was imported from Greece via Albania. Its resemblance is also strong enough to the Greek variety Xinomavro that it would leave no doubt.
Negroamaro is the little treasure of Apulian winemakers and has always amazed that it has survived all these years. The reason is simple, the climate is optimal for its production and it is particularly resistant to vine diseases and drought, to which the region is often propitious. The quality that this variety can achieve is also impressive.
It takes its name from the " Niaro Maru " dialect. Niaro, black for the depth it gives to its wines and Maru (bitter) for the bitterness in the back of the mouth which is one of its peculiarities. However, it is not unpleasant because it is balanced by the strong presence of fruits which counterbalance the whole.
When it is not used as a monovarietal in PGI or as a denomination of origin such as the DOC Salice Salentino, it is found as the dominant vine in blends with Montepulciano, Malvasia Nera or Primitivo. The latter is predominant in Puglia. The resulting wines are full and aromatic.
Negroamaro, pairings
Negroamaro is easy to combine gastronomically, especially with a good first course of pasta, lamb, meatballs with sauce, grilled horse meat, pasta with legume soup or the famous offal rolls.
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