The apulian wines are produced in the 105 thousand hectares of vineyard of the region, which has seen in the recent times a higher attention of producers in the search for quality wines, as opposed to the past when they focused on quantity or they were used as blending wines in order to enrich the alcohol content of northern wines.
The quantity of Apulian red wines exceeds the one of white wines, in fact red berried grapes cover more than 80% of the total surface of vineyards. The main grapes of the Apulian territory are Negroamaro and Primitivo. The latter in particular is cultivated with the traditional form of alberello breeding, and is differentiated between Primitivo di Gioia del Colle and Primitivo di Manduria, followed by bombino bianco and nero, trebbiano toscano, uva di Troia, sangiovese, montepulciano, malvasia nera.
The region has 4 Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG), and 28 Denominazioni di Origine Controllata (DOC) which allow Apulia to hold the national supremacy just after Tuscany. The DOC Aleatico di Puglia is valid for the whole region, whereas in the north of the region, in the province of Foggia, there are the DOC Tavoliere, San Severo, Cacc'è mmitte di Lucera and Orta Nova, whereas in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani there are the DOC Rosso di Cerignola, Barletta and Moscato di Trani. In the province of Bari are produced the 3 DOCG Castel del Monte Bombino Nero, Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva, Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva, with the relative DOC Castel del Monte, as well as DOC Gravina and Gioia del Colle. In the south, between the provinces of Brindisi, Taranto and Lecce, there are many DOCs which cover very small production areas, such as Negramaro di Terre d'Otranto, Terra d'Otranto, Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Colline Joniche Tarantine, Brindisi, Lizzano, Salice Salentino, Squinzano, Leverano, Copertino, Nardò, Galatina, Alezio and Matino. Moreover, in this area emerges the fourth DOCG of the region: Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale, with the relative DOC Primitivo di Manduria.
