San Marzano, ‘Timo’ Vermentino, Puglia, Italy 2023

In 1962, 19 vine growers from San Marzano whose families had farmed the land for generations, banded together to establish Cantine San Marzano. The cooperative has grown significantly since then, attracting more than 1,200 top-quality vine growers. Winemakers Caterina Bellanova and Davide Ragusa, who both grew up in Puglia, use modern and technologically advanced vinification techniques to produce elegant wines that pay homage to the ancient Apulian wine traditions.

San Marzano is located in Puglia’s Primitivo di Manduria DOP zone and not surprisingly, therefore, Primitivo is its principal grape variety. But excellent Negromaro, Merlot, Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianco, Malvasia Nera, Fiano and Vermentino are all cultivated by the cooperative too. The terroir in this region is typical of southern Puglia: hot and dry, with plains sloping gently down to the sea. The vineyards here are ancient and share the land with endless olive groves – as well as wine, Puglia is known as a prolific source of olive oil, generating half of Italy’s annual production.

The vines for this wine are grown in Brindisi, Salento in Puglia at an elevation of approximately 100 metres above sea-level. The warm climate is tempered by the proximity to the sea and the influence of the strong oceanic winds. The wine takes its name ‘Timo’ from the thyme bushes that grow along the rocky shoreline of the Ionian Sea, whose scent fills the air with herbal fragrance of the Mediterranean garrigue known locally as maquis.

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