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2018 Valle d’Itria Bianco “Faraone”
I PástiniOur first-ever foray into the heel of the Italian boot might not be what you expect. It certainly wasn’t what I expected! On a trip there last July, I discovered a terroir perfectly suited to producing dry, aromatic white wines of character and freshness. Puglia is the likely birthplace of Italian wine (and, as follows, French wine!), with the vine originally traveling here via Greek settlers who crossed the Adriatic channel. Today it is the second-largest producer of wine out of Italy’s twenty regions. Most of it is red. I Pástini is a small, family-run winery in the Valle d’Itria in eastern central Puglia. Gianni Carparelli and his father, Donato, founded I Pástini so that they could bottle their own production from land used by their forebears to grow wine grapes for sale. Their organically grown grapes thrive on a limestone plateau co-planted to ancient (multi-millennia-old!) olive groves overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Located roughly in between the coastal towns of Brindisi and Bari, the Valle d’Itria is made up of a dozen or so small, agrarian towns distinguished by their trulli, conically shaped stone structures that historically served to house people, store grain and other foodstuff, and shelter livestock.
The Carparellis produce a beautiful range of white wines, including the Faraone, which is made from the local Verdeca grape (which is genetically similar to Verdicchio in Le Marche). This stimulating dry white is a wonderfully versatile table wine that is crisp, floral, herbaceous, and cleansing. A perfect introduction to I Pástini’s style, it is the type of white you might like to consume often and plentifully.
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Verdeca |
Appellation: | Valle d’Itria IGP |
Country: | Italy |
Region: | Puglia |
Vineyard: | 3 ha, planted in 2001 |
Soil: | Red clay, limestone |
Farming: | Organic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 12% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Valle d’Itria Rosato “Le Rotaie”
Italy | Puglia
A delicious aperitivo, it can seamlessly pair with anything you throw its way.
2021 Valle d’Itria Minutolo “Rampone”
Italy | Puglia
Crafted from the local variety Minutolo, Pástini’s Rampone preserves lip-smacking acidity and low alcohol despite the baking-hot Puglian summers
2022 Valle d’Itria Rosato “Le Rotaie”
Italy | Puglia
A delicious aperitivo, it can seamlessly pair with anything you throw its way.
2022 Valle d’Itria Spumante Brut
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Verdeca, a specialty around the town of Locorotondo, stars in this bottling that drinks like a southern Prosecco: light, crisp, and citrusy, with a playful bead.
2021 Valle d’Itria Bianco “Faraone”
Italy | Puglia
You’ll recognize the root verde in Verdeca, the grape variety in this snappy and slightly aromatic Italian white, and the reason won’t be lost on you.
About The Region
Puglia
Puglia is Italy’s second most prolific wine-producing region (after the Veneto) and for decades was known as a source of bulk wine. But today, the heel of the boot is more than ever focused on quality, as ambitious growers seek to take advantage of the area's abundant natural riches to produce wines of character and identity. The hot, dry climate and marine influence from the long Adriatic coastline predispose Puglia to growing high-quality fruit, while a wealth of fascinating indigenous grape varieties thrive in these conditions. Changing fashion and a growing respect for the region's mostly calcareous terroirs have breathed fresh air into the Puglian wine scene, and with more than thirty distinct appellations, it is home to a tremendous variety of styles.
While the region is best known for inky, concentrated reds from grapes such as Primitivo and Negroamaro, the first KLWM Puglian imports are in fact white wines—aromatic charmers made from native varieties including Verdeca and the rare Minutolo. They hail from central Puglia’s Valle d’Itria, a plateau that shares a relatively flat topography and limestone soils with the Salento peninsula in the south. The north, in contrast, is hillier and features grapes more common to southern and central Italy including Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Trebbiano.
Puglian wines are the product of intense southern sunshine and an ancient history of viticulture. With other local specialties including olive oil and burrata, the region has enormous potential for delicious combinations.
More from Puglia or Italy
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2021 Valle d’Itria Bianco “Faraone”
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2021 Valle d’Itria Bianco “Faraone”
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2020 Barbaresco
Elvio Tintero Italy | Piedmont
2021 Vermentino di Gallura Superiore “Fria”
Deperu Holler Italy | Sardinia
2016 Pinot Nero “Ronco Pitotti”
Vignai da Duline Italy | Friuli
2022 Valle d’Itria Rosato “Le Rotaie”
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2020 Corvina Veronese “Becco Rosso”
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2021 Valle d’Itria Minutolo “Rampone”
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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
When buying red Burgundy, I think we should remember:
1. Big wines do not age better than light wine.
2. A so-called great vintage at the outset does not guarantee a great vintage for the duration.
3. A so-called off vintage at the outset does not mean the wines do not have a brilliant future ahead of them.
4. Red Burgundy should not taste like Guigal Côte-Rôtie, even if most wine writers wish it would.
5. Don’t follow leaders; watch yer parking meters.
Inspiring Thirst, page 174