1993 Leone de Castris Salice Salentino Donna Lisa Riserva

Leone de Castris is in Salice Salentino, in Puglia. The estate was started in the 17th century by a local nobleman and by the early 20th century the Leone de Castris family, which owns the estate, was bottling its own wine, a departure from the local tradition of making bulk wine. The estate has about 625 acres of vineyards which are planted to the local, traditional grapes such as Negroamaro, Primitivo and Malvasia nera. The estate also grows non-traditional grapes, such as Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Leone de Castris makes a large portfolio of red, white, rose and sparkling wines. A total of 2.5 million bottles are produced annually. Gambero Rosso, Italy’s leading wine journal, notes that the estate’s “wide range of extremely reliable wines is modern in style with international appeal.”

Puglia has more acres of vineyards than any other region in Italy except Sicily. Located in the southeast in the “heel” of boot-shaped Italy, it enjoys a hot, sunny climate moderated by Puglia’s location on the Adriatic and the Gulf of Taranto. Puglia has 275,00 vineyard acres, four DOCGs and 29 DOCs. For most of its long winemaking history – started, it is believed, by the Ancient Greeks – Puglia shipped off its prodigious grape harvests to other parts of Italy, where it was used to give backbone to less robust wines. Local Puglian wines were made in cooperatives, and were not especially notable. But as state funding of coops dried up in the 1990s, some local growers started marketing their own wines and quality producers from other parts of Italy moved into Puglia. Antinori purchased two estates in the 1990s and now makes its Tormaresca wines in Puglia, among others. Red, white and rosé wines are made. The big, fruity red Puglian wines are often made from Negromaro, the most-planted grape in Puglia, and Primitivo, which is genetically linked to Zinfandel. White wines are made from Bombino Bianco, Verdeca and Chardonnay.