Shoreline
In this area of poor soils next to the Ionian Sea, the Primitivo vines have been planted directly in the sand; elsewhere there are outcrops of calcareous rocks with cracks where the roots of the plants penetrate to escape the summer heat. These small plots of land are worked completely by hand. The hot, dry summers plus the big difference between day and night temperatures result in wines with a notable polyphenolic structure. Being next to the sea the plants absorb the sea breezes full of salt as well as the scents of the maquis and these fragrances emerge in the wines.
Inland
Inland the soils are red, rich in potassium and iron, or black, rich in humus ad clay. Full bodied, powerful wines are obtained from these plants, which are always cultivated with the Alberello or Gobelet method. The Alberello or Gobelet training system is the oldestthat exists. It is characterised by low trunks with the bunches of grapes almost touching the ground so that they not only receive their they dig a trench around the vine. Some plants are seventy years old, the years pass and yet they are still strong and thriving, generously yielding their precious clusters to the farmer. No two plants are alike, each one being moulded and twisted by the elements, each one with its own story to tell. The farmers created kilometres of dry walls and the typical trulli (dry stone houses) of this region with the very stones that they removed from the fields.
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