The signs and traces of Salentinian viticulture’s remote past can be found in Antonio Ferrari’s (1444-1517) own writings, who was also referred to as ‘Galateo’. Whilst referencing the city of Taranto, he wrote that ‘his orchard is where the weather switches between mild winters and long springs, and his vineyards, as luscious and heady as Falerno wine, ferment Aulone wine.
Viticulture on the land of Primitivo wine has grown increasingly since the early nineteenth century, and the two main wine production hubs located in the towns of Sava and Manduria are known for the hustle and bustle of its wine market, which grew at galloping speed.
However, Phylloxera slowly started making its way into Salentinian land at the end of the nineteenth century and severely damaged 115.000 acres in 1906 only, playing havoc with local wine production, which took a tough hit that lasted until the 1930’s.
In the 1970’s came a bout of economic recovery, which had been facilitated since the 1950’s in towns such as Sava, which provided the area up to the province of Bari with its wine under the name of ‘Wines of Sava’ to further ease local production demands.
In the 1970’s Sava bore witness to the first production of a wine named ‘Rosso di Sava’, whose label referenced Primitivo vine. In the town of Manduria, on the other hand, the idea of building their own, proper DOC wine label quickly gained pace.
From there, the rest is history: the DOC label widely known as ‘Primitivo di Manduria’ made its first appearance in 1974 and was bound to take the entirety of Sava’s wine production under its wing.