Copertino is a DOC of the Puglia wine region in south-eastern Italy. The catchment area for this DOC, classified in 1976, centers around Copertino town and stretches 10 miles (16km) north-west to Salice Salentino. The land around Copertino is dominated by vineyards and olive groves – this is Italian agriculture at its most evocative.
The red wines produced under this title are robust, often quite tannic, and typically high in alcohol. They are made mostly from Negroamaro grapes, which must make up at least 70% of any blend claiming the Copertino title. Negroamaro has long been recognized as one of the grapes best suited to the terroir in the Salento peninsula, the 'heel' of Italy's 'boot'. The grape may be joined in Copertino wine blends by up to 30% Malvasia Nera and/or Montepulciano and up to 15% Sangiovese.
The loose laws around maximum yields have limited the reputation of Copertino wines to date. As the world enters a new phase of wine marketing and consumption, the message that high yields and overcropping do not create quality wines is getting through here. In a region where only a small proportion of vineyards take up the DOC titles to which they are entitled, Copertino has done well to produce quality wines without driving their cost up disproportionately. This is particularly true of the wines made by the Copertino co-operative.
Despite its location on the Salento Peninsula, equidistant from the Adriatic and Ionian coastlines, the climate here is remarkably hot and dry. 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. The wines made from these grapes are subsequently high in alcohol.
