Nardò DOC Red and Rosè Wines - Ancient wine for a new market!

A table wine available as red or Rosé, the Nardò is mostly made from Negramaro grapes, which give the wine a distinctive bitter note, but other vines can be added, for instance red Malvasia of Brindisi and red Malvasia of Lecce, both of Greek origin. The Rosé is pale cherry pink in colour, the flavour is rich and quickly fading, winy, fruity with notes or raspberry and blackberry. The taste is pleasantly dry, warm, almost smooth, poorly tannic and tasty, full-bodied and well-balanced. The red has a nice ruby red colour, which can range from pale to dark, with some orange specks if aged. The flavour is winy and rich, the taste is well-balanced, slightly bitter, velvety and reasonably tannic. The minimum alcoholic strength of both wines is 11.5 degrees. With a minimum alcoholic strength of 12.5°C and two years’ aging, it can be labelled as “Riserva”.

Matches - How to consume it:
The Rosé should be drunk with moderately rich dishes, such as boiled sea fish with sauce, stuffed cuttlefish, pasta and chickpea soup, baked gilthead. The read instead is a good match for red meat, especially lamb, pork, mixed boiled meats and cold pork meats.

How to recognize it:
As well as mentioning the Registered Designation of Origin, the label must include all the information laid down by the law: native region; designation, in which the cultivar from which the wine comes is matched to the geographical area in which it is grown; nominal volume of the wine; bottler’s name or corporate name and address; bottler’s number and code; country; batch number; ecological information.

Notes:
The perfect serving temperature for the rosé is 12-14°C, in glasses for smooth rosé wines within two years of the harvest. The red should be served in long glasses at a temperature of about 18°C.

This is a noble and full-bodied wine that in the past has been used for cutting more famous wines. Now there are several wine producers in the area who are gaining a place in the sun in the wide list of Italian wines.

If you have a chance to spend your holiday in Nardò area or around its marinas Santa Caterina, Santa Maria al Bagno and Sant'Isidoro, you can free taste those kind of wines directly at the producers shops or winery.

The following is our suggested Nardò wine tour:

1) Cantina Sociale di Nardò - http://www.cantinanardo.it/azienda_en.php

2) Vini Bonsegna - http://www.vinibonsegna.it/INDEX.HTM

3) Schola Sarmenti - http://www.scholasarmenti.it/default.asp

4) Vini Gabellone - http://www.tenutegabellonevini.it/ita/azienda.asp

5) Vini Totò - http://www.vinitoto.it