Ostuni is an Italian

Italian wine

Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...

 Denominazione di Origine Controllata

Denominazione di Origine Controllata

Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...

(DOC) in the Province of Brindisi

Province of Brindisi

The Province of Brindisi is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. Surrounded by vineyards and artichoke fields, Brindisi is a major sailing port for the southern part of Italy....

 of Puglia. The zone of production of the area, elevated to DOC status in 1972, is limited to the communes of Ostuni

Ostuni

Ostuni is a city and comune in the province of Brindisi , with a population of about 32,000 located about 8 km from the coast. Its main economic activities include tourism, attracted by its nearby pristine beaches, as well as a vibrant olive and grape agribusiness.- History :The region around...

, Carovigno

Carovigno

Carovigno is a town and comune in the province of Brindisi, Puglia, Italy. Its area, part of Upper Salento, is renowned for the production of high quality olive oil.-International relations:Carovigno is twinned with: Corfu, Greece- External links :*...

, San Vito dei Normanni

San Vito dei Normanni

San Vito dei Normanni is an Italian town of 19,947 inhabitants of the province of Brindisi in Puglia. The inhabitants are called Sanvitesi and the town is sometimes referred to as San Vito....

, San Michele Salentino

San Michele Salentino

San Michele Salentino is a comune in the province of Brindisi in Puglia, on the south-east Italy coast. Its main economic activities are tourism and the growing of olives and grapes.- External links :...

 and parts of the communes of Brindisi

Brindisi

Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...

, Latiano

Latiano

Latiano is a comune in the province of Brindisi in Puglia, on the southeast coast of Italy. Its main economic activities are tourism and the growing of olives and grapes.Bartolo Longo was a native of Latiano-Main sights:...

 and Ceglie Messapica

Ceglie Messapica

Ceglie Messapica is a town and comune located in the province of Brindisi in the Puglia region, southern Italy, in the Murge traditional area.- Geography :...

.

Climate and geography

The Ostuni region has a Mediterranean climate

Mediterranean climate

A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...

 influenced by its close proximately to the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

. Situated among three small mountains at the edge of the Murge range, vineyards in the area experience diverse microclimate and terroir

Terroir

Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...

variations. The DOC gets it name from the nearby town of Ostuni

Ostuni

Ostuni is a city and comune in the province of Brindisi , with a population of about 32,000 located about 8 km from the coast. Its main economic activities include tourism, attracted by its nearby pristine beaches, as well as a vibrant olive and grape agribusiness.- History :The region around...

.

Grape varieties

The primary grape variety of the DOC classified red wine is Ottavianello (also known as Cinsaut in France), with the wine sometimes labeled

Wine label

Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...

 as Ostuni Ottavianello. Ottavnianello must comprise at least 85% of the blend. Up to 15% may consist of Negroamaro

Negroamaro

Negroamaro, also Negro amaro, is a red wine grape variety native to southern Italy. It is grown almost exclusively in Puglia and particularly in Salento, the peninsula which can be visualised as the “heel” of Italy. The grape can produce wines very deep in color. Wines made from Negroamaro tend to...

 and/or Malvasia Nera and/or Notar Domenico and/or Sussumaniello grapes. The white DOC classified wine, Ostuni Bianco, is composed of a blend of mostly Impigno and Francavilla. Impigno must account for at least 50% of the blend with Francavilla usually comprising the remainder. DOC regulations also permit an inclusion up to 10% of Bianco de Alessano and/or Verdeca.

Wines

Ostuni Ottavianello is characterized by its light body and pale cherry color. Both the red and white Ostuni wines are almost always dry. In recent years the wines of Ostuni have garnered more international interest as the overall quality level has improved with investments in viticulture

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

 and winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

.

Production

Province, vintage, volume in litre

Litre

pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...

s

• Brindisi (1990/91) 1,330
• Brindisi (1991/92) 7,397
• Brindisi (1992/93) 9,479
• Brindisi (1993/94) 8,526
• Brindisi (1994/95) 12,082
• Brindisi (1995/96) 4,888

External links

• ItalianMade.com, WINES: Ostuni DOC: Map, Varieties and Types