Cellars of Manduria
Manduria, located in the heart of Salento, in the province of Taranto, is a small jewel of Puglia that has gained fame not only for its rich history and cultural heritage, but also for its winemaking tradition. This town, surrounded by a suggestive landscape of olive groves, vineyards and ancient farmhouses, is one of the main destinations for those who want to discover the true essence of Puglia. But it is precisely the wine, in particular the Primitivo di Manduria, that has made the city famous internationally, attracting enthusiasts and tourists from all over the world.
The city offers numerous tasting opportunities, where visitors can appreciate not only the wine, but also the culture and history that accompany it. In this article we show you the best wineries in the city, where you can take part in tastings and guided tours inside the vineyards.
1. Cellar Produttori di Manduria
Cellar Produttori di Manduria is a cooperative that brings together the winemakers of the area. Founded in 1932, the winery is one of the oldest and most traditional in the region. Thanks to the passion and dedication of its members, the winery has established itself as one of the main producers of Primitivo di Manduria DOC, as well as producing a wide range of other quality wines. We tell you more about it in this article.
2. Agricola Felline
Agricola Felline is one of the most famous wineries in Manduria. Founded with the aim of enhancing the local winemaking heritage, the company is dedicated to the production of high-quality wines, with particular attention to Primitivo, but also to other typical varieties such as Negroamaro.
Particular attention is paid to sustainable agricultural practices and to the care of the vineyards and the winemaking process, which have allowed their Primitivo wine to repeatedly obtain important awards from Gambero Rosso.
3. Agricultural Company Giuseppe Attanasio
The Agricultural Company Giuseppe Attanasio, with its production of only 15,000 bottles per year, is another important winery in the city of Manduria. The company takes care of every phase of the production chain, from the vineyards, to the transformation and bottling, always ready to reconstruct the history of the product, the raw materials and the manufacturing processes. The harvest of the grapes, highly selected, is done manually and the careful arrangement in boxes guarantees the integrity of the raw material at the beginning of the winemaking process. The winery is located in an early twentieth-century oil mill and houses, in addition to the steel silos, the barrel room, the underground concrete tanks and the refinement amphorae.
The company has specialized in the production of Primitivo di Manduria in 5 different interpretations: Secco da tavola with aging in barrique for one year, Riserva with aging in barrique for three years, Rosato with aging in amphora for one month, Dolce naturale from late harvest and Passito from drying in the fruit cellar.
The founder Attanasio Giuseppe who has dedicated his entire life to the cultivation of saplings began winemaking and bottling in 2000 trying to express the originality of Primitivo in the most authentic way possible and trying to characterize his own style as a producer.
4. Cellar Cantore Di Castelforte
Cellar Cantore Di Castelforte is another important local reality in the territory of Manduria, founded 70 years ago, on a surface of 2,000 square meters.
The company’s activity includes the cultivation of vines with the most modern cultivation techniques and the harvest of grapes with grape harvesters. As soon as the grapes arrive in the cellar, they are cooled and processed in a very short time to avoid abnormal fermentations. Once fermentation is complete, the wines are filtered and left to mature in stainless steel lined tanks or silos, or barriques. The finest wines are then bottled with the company’s bottling line.
The Cantore di Castelforte Agricultural Companies exceed 600 hectares of cultivated land, mostly with Primitivo di Manduria Doc vineyards and olive trees. Between tradition and innovation, generation after generation, Cantore di Castelforte has recorded the most significant change of direction in its history with the advent of the new millennium, setting itself quality as its goal. The supply chain within the company is complete, from the vine cutting to the bottle. The same goes for the oil mill, which already produces an exceptional extra virgin olive oil from its own olive groves and which is also bottled within the company.
If you are a wine lover, a stop in these cellars is definitely an experience not to be missed.
In this article, we propose an idea for a tour of Primitivo di Manduria with stops in various cellars in the area, even outside the city of Manduria, true excellences of the wine heritage of the Region.