BARLETTA DOC | Denomination dating from 1977 for a still and/or sparkling wine of all three colours named after the township (‘comune’) of Barletta and including parts of four neighbouring townships (listed immediately below) on the Adriatic coast of the Puglia region in Italy.

TOWNSHIPS / Barletta, plus parts of Andria and Trani, and parts of San Ferdinando di Puglia and Trinitapoli in the province of Foggia, all of which are now in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT). 

TERROIR / The terrain is predominantly flat. Altitudes range from between sea level and 250 metres above sea level. From a structural point of view the soils have a calcareous / clayey character with a medium texture or tending to loose, sufficiently and variably deep and of good fertility. The climate of the area is typically Mediterranean, even considering the proximity of the coastal area, which is why temperatures are mild, neither too harsh in winter, nor excessively hot in summer: in the last sixty years, in fact, the absolute minimum temperature it reached about -5.9 ° C in January 1993 while the absolute maximum reached +45.6 ° C in July 2007. The average minimum and maximum temperatures in this period 8.6 and + 23.8 respectively. The average annual precipitation is around 600 mm, averaged over 70 days, with a peak in autumn and with a minimum in summer.

BARLETTA DOC WINES

BARLETTA BIANCO DOC | White wine from 60-100% Malvasia Bianca and 0-40% of any other white grape(s) authorised in Puglia. It may be still or sparkling (‘frizzante’).

BARLETTA ROSATO DOC | Pink wine from 70-100% Uva di Troia and 0-30% of any other non-aromatic red grape(s) authorised in Puglia. The only stipulation is that Malbec (‘Malbeck’) is limited to 0-10%. It may be still or sparkling (‘frizzante’).

BARLETTA ROSSO DOC | Red wine from 70-100% Uva di Troia (Nero di Trioia) and 0-30% of any other non-aromatic red grape(s) authorised in Puglia. The only stipulation is that Malbec (‘Malbeck’) is limited to 0-10%. Barletta Rosso may be be also released as a either ‘novello’ or ‘riserva’. In the case of Barletta Rosso Riserva, this must age for two years of which at least 12 months must be in oak. Wines bearing the name Uva di Troia (Nero di Trioia) must contain 90-100% of this variety and an optional 0-10% of any other non-aromatic red grape(s) authorised in Puglia. 

VITICULTURE / Yields are 15 tonnes per hectare +20% extra in ‘favourable’ years.

WINERIES

CERTIFIED BIODYNAMIC /

CERTIFIED ORGANIC, BIODYNAMIC PRACTICES /

CERTIFIED ORGANIC /

NO CERTIFICATION / Cantina Sociale di Barletta.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burton Anderson, The Wine Atlas of Italy (Mitchell Beazley, London, 1990).

David Gleave, The Wines of Italy (Salamander Books, London, 1989).

Dr Ian D’Agata, Native Wine Grapes of Italy (University of California Press, 2014).

Nicolas Belfrage MW, Life Beyond Lambrusco (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985). 

Nicolas Belfrage MW, From Brunello to Zibibbo–The Wines of Tuscany, Central and Southern Italy (2nd edition, London, 2003).

Oxford Companion to Wine 4th edition ed. Jancis Robinson MW and Julia Harding MW (Oxford University Press, 2015).