Winery of the Month – APR 2019
Menhir Salento
For April we are traveling to the Puglia, the heel of the boot. Puglia is generally a vast flat fertile plain. The cultivation of grapes is one of the predominate crops for the region. It has been this way for as long as we know as all civilizations that have lived here have some record of grape growing and wine making. This is one of the first developed areas of Italy and this is shown with the preponderance of Menhir and Dolmen. Dolmen are rocks stacked to create a doorway, think Stonehenge. Menhir are huge long stones that are stood up one of their ends. They are normally between 8 and 15 feet tall. They placed in arrangements to track the sun and keep track of Solstices and other calendar events. Most of the Menhir are located in the Salento Plain, and this is where the winery stands.
The winery takes up the bottom floor of an 18th century Baronial Palace. The second floor houses the administrative offices and an inn. The vineyards are scattered throughout the regions with some of the vines being over 80 years old. The winery is focused on tradition and uses the traditional methods of fermentation and aging with a few touches of modern winemaking where prudent. This focus on tradition is shown in the grape choices as they produce wines from indigenous grapes that many outside of Puglia have heard of. Even though you may not have heard of some of these grapes, give them a try as they have been around for 3000+ years for a reason.
Menhir Salento Verdeca
Verdeca is a rare white variety that is almost exclusively grown in Puglia. The wine displays some light herbal notes with great citrus and stone fruit flavors. This is a great wine for seafood and summer salads.
Regularly $15.99 Sale $12.99
Novementi Rosato
Negroamaro is another grape that is basically only in Puglia. The wine has a deeper color than most roses have and flavors of red and black fruits. It also has some light touches of baking spice that is characteristic to the variety.
Regularly $14.99 Sale $11.99
Pietra Susumaniello
Susumaniello is one of the rarest wine grapes in the world. The total production is less than the number of Kendal Jackson chardonnay bottles sold in MD. It makes ruby colored reds that show berry fruit with some plum. There is also some pepper and hints of dark chocolate.
Regularly $22.99 Sale $18.99
Filo
Here we get the full Negroamaro experience. The wine displays the dark and opaque color that is a earmark of the variety. Rich dark fruit with some light jammy characteristics are the dominant flavor. In the background are some clove and anise. It is a medium bodied with wine with some slightly grippy tannins.
Regularly $31.99 Sale $25.99