2023 Negroamaro Rosato, Cantele

The village folk still call it Niuru Maru: Negroamaro, meaning bitter black (red).

In another era, Negroamaro was grown solely to ship to the north of Italy where the colder climate made it challenging to obtain the desired color and alcohol levels in the wines they produced. But in recent decades, more and more Salento wineries have looked to the variety as one of the most noble expressions of Pugliese viticulture.

FCantele’s rosé wines are made from a selection of top Negroamaro grapes that are used to make their flagship wines. Winemaker Gianni Cantele, to achieve their deep rose hue and their rich aroma and flavour, employs the Italian salasso method (known in English and French as saignée): as the Negroamaro grapes are macerating on their skins to extract the variety’s naturally dark colour, he racks off — in other words, he “bleeds” off (hence the name) — some of the must to another tank. After vinification, the resulting wine is aged and bottled as the Rosato di Negroamaro (rosé from Negroamaro).

This is an ideal wine for appetizers, pizza, fish and seafood, and simple first and second courses — especially vegetable-based recipes.