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Tasting Wines from Puglia: From Our Glass to Yours

2/4/2017

We fell in love with wines in Puglia when we Voyaged throughout Italy. Back at home, we discovered that Pugliese wines are, well, not well known here. Local wine shops usually have only one or two from Puglia... our favorite go-to, affordable choice is a Primativo by Layer Cake. The odd thing is, it's actually got a screw cap! Still, we haven't had a bad bottle yet.

This gave my wife, Lisa the idea to try other wines from the region, but to do that we needed a bigger wine shop. She decided on Astor Wines in New York City. I used to buy from Astor when I lived in Manhattan and can tell you from experience, this wine shop has everything. I mean everything... from $600 bottles of vintage bottles, to under $10 bottles. Well, being on the frugal side of life (and never having been satisfied with any wine that we paid over $50 for), the $10 range was just about right.

Below are three of the wines we've been enjoying at home with a profile of each...

--Jerry Finzi

Rosso Puglia Casato D'Alojsa - 2009
$4.98
Produced from the Negroamaro grape. A light colored, transparent, red wine. Fruity, spicy, light. It's a wine destined for pizza or pasta. It's brightness would go well with fish or with cheese and fruit. Don't be surprised by the low price. It's a decent wine, if you pair it properly.

Filari De Sant' Antoni - 2012
$11.96
A Salento Negroamaro grape, unoaked, spicey, tones of roses, cinnamin, fairly full body, strong tannins. Great with marinara sauces and sausages. More than likely gets a bit more robust with aging.

Torre Nova Negroamaro 2014
$10.98 (Astor Wines)
This is an organic, un-oaked, red wine--that is, it was not aged on an oak barrel. It's from the Salento region of Puglia--the heel of the boot. It was full bodied and fruity at first, but then the acidic youthfulness hit my tongue. The finish was smooth and a bit spicy. It reminded me of a rustic Chianti. This might be a bottle to keep for a few years to see how it ages. It went great with a primavera pasta and would be a good mix on the palette with beef.

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