Aleatico di Puglia is a DOC wine region in Puglia, south-eastern Italy, under which red wines of varying sweetness levels are made from the Aleatico grape variety. The large area covered by this title essentially corresponds to five Puglian provinces: Foggia, Bari, Taranto, Brindisi and Lecce. This large area has traditionally produced table grapes as much as wine grapes, and a large part of the output is used in blends or as a base for fortified wines and liqueurs.
As a result of its relaxed production laws and the wide catchment area, the Aleatico di Puglia name is not as widely known or as well regarded as other Aleatico DOCs – such as Aleatico di Portoferraio and Elba Aleatico Passito, both from the island of Elba off the coast of Tuscany, where Napoleon was famously imprisoned during his exile from France.
A typical Aleatico di Puglia wine is sweeter and richer than its Tuscan cousins, the climate being significantly drier and hotter. Puglia's name derives from the Latin phrase a pluvia, meaning 'without rain'. Southern Italy has been nicknamed Il Mezzogiorno, meaning 'the midday', due to its long, hot summers (le Midi in southern France has precisely the same meaning and origin). With 300 sunny days each year and mid-summer afternoon temperatures regularly surpassing 40C, the grapes which grow here develop high levels of sugar over the growing season. Inevitably, the wines made from these grapes are high in alcohol and/or residual sugar: both apply in the case of Aleatico di Puglia.
