The red wine and the Fonte Pliniano
In the heart of the Salento plain, between Taranto and Lecce, Manduria gives its name to one of the most famous red wines of southern Italy, the Primitivo di Manduria. The Primitivo grape, genetically identical to the Californian Zinfandel, is so called because it ripens early, "primo", at the end of August. The vines, often old bush vines, the "alberello", grow on red soils among olive groves and dry stone walls, and produce intense, warm, fruity wines with notes of ripe cherry, plum and spice, and high alcohol. The sweet version, the Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale, has the DOCG. The Museo della Civiltà del Vino Primitivo, in a historic winery, tells its story.
Manduria also has a rich history: it was an important Messapian city, enclosed by three rings of massive megalithic walls, whose remains can be seen in the Archaeological Park of the Messapian Walls, together with a necropolis with over a thousand tombs. Here too is the Fonte Pliniano, a spring in a cave described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, where the water level remains constant whatever the amount drawn; above it grows an almond tree that was already ancient in his time, according to the legend. In the town centre, the Jewish ghetto and the cathedral recall the medieval town.
Tip: many wineries in Manduria and Sava offer tastings; the beaches of the Ionian coast, such as San Pietro in Bevagna, are a few kilometres away.
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