Italian Wine Adventure #6: Salice Salentino! (Rich, rustic red wines, Southern Italian wines, Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, great wines with Italian food)

Show Notes

Episode 70: Italian Wine Adventure #6: Salice Salentino! 00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and review three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 -  and should be easy for you to find. And, our podcast is made for people like us - people who really like wine, but want to learn more about different wines, and find new wines to explore, and feel more confident when we talk about and order wines. So, if that sounds like you, you are in the right place! And, you should also know that when we taste and rate wines on our podcast, we will be very honest with  you about what we think. And we are proud to say that we are officially recommended by the editors of Decanter Magazine from their October issue, who call us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining. 

Ok, so in this episode we are taking another Italian wine adventure, and this time we are going to be learning about and tasting and reviewing a wine called Salice Salentino, which is actually made from the Negroamaro grape which we will talk more about later, and the wine comes from the Puglia area of Italy. For those of you out there in listening land and are like, I’ve never heard of Puglia, just know that Puglia is a hidden gem in Italy - at least hidden for most Americans. But Italians and other Europeans love it. If you think of Italy like a boot, Puglia is in the heel of the boot of Italy, and it is known for warm weather and beautiful beaches. Right Carmela?!?

Now, those of you who listen to this podcast know that I tend to do a lot of talking. But for this intro section of the podcast I am going to have you do the talking, Chatty Carmela. How about that?!? And the reason for that is because you have real life experience in Puglia and I don’t. So, without further ado, here we go.

Carmela, what is your connection to Puglia, Italy?

• What do you remember about visiting Bari in Puglia?
• Did you ever go to a beach in Puglia?
• Did you ever drink any wine in Puglia?
• What would you say to people who are on the fence about visiting Puglia?

So, there you go. Chatty Carmela! I think it’s time we learned a little bit about Salice Salentino, the Negroamaro grape, and taste and review the wines bought for this episode . . .

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug, right Carmela? First, we want to start by saying THANK YOU for listening to us and for supporting our show, and if you have not had the chance to do so yet, now would be an awesome time to subscribe to our podcast  - it is a free way to support us, and then you never have to miss a show!  - and a huge thank you to all of you who have subscribed already - we really really appreciate it! 

And, another great way to support us for FREE is to leave a nice rating and review on our website or on Apple Podcasts or other podcast service so we can continue to grow our listeners.

You can also follow us and see fun pictures of the wines we are tasting and trying today on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast, and you can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com with any questions or ideas you have.

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast - and this week we want you to tell anyone who thinks that Italy is just about beautiful cities and museums and needs to learn that it is also about beautiful beaches!

And, by the way, a huge shout out to Alison Shea and her husband Dan who came over to our house last weekend for a little dinner party and schooled us on some really good Chardonnays! You win, Alison. You may have changed my mind on Chardonnay!

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.neverendingvoyage.com/10-reasons-to-visit-puglia/
• https://drifterplanet.com/why-visit-puglia-italy/ 

Topic: WTF is Salice Salentino? 11:55

So, Carmela, let’s talk about what this wine Salice Salentino is all about. First, we’ll say this again - like many wines from Italy, France, and Spain, Salice Salentino is an area, it is not the name of the wine grape, which can be really confusing to people - I know it is often confusing to me. Again, we are used to talking about wines by the varietal - like Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc - but Salice Salentino is one of those wines where you have to know what grape is in it.

So, the wine grape in Salice Salentino is called Negroamaro, which is a wine found in many places in Italy, but is grown almost exclusively in Italy. So this is a very Italian wine wine grape. And Puglia, also called Apulia in Italian, is where the vast majority of Negroamaro is grown. 

Now the name Negroamaro means - any clue Carmela?  “black and bitter,” which doesn’t sound like an awesome description for a wine or a grape. According to an article that I read on the interwebs that you can also find in our show notes for this episode, they say “The village folk still call it Niuru Maru instead of Negroamaro, meaning bitter black.” And this is very typical that there will be dialect versions of words and phrases. Negroamaro is a very dark grape, which should be obvious by its name, and it makes a very inky colored wine that is described as “rustic.” 

What does rustic mean do you think?

• Rough-edged. Not refined. Lacking polish, not as sophisticated. Also I think real, honest, traditional
• Robust and earthy-flavored. Chewy. High in tannin. Not mellowed out. 
• Often use traditional non-modern styles to make the wine, minimal intervention, simple, and sometimes using indigenous yeast. 
• To me, these describe wines that could prove to be a bit more challenging for the average wine drinker who may be expecting something soft and mellow, but it also reminds me of the wines that our grandparents probably made, which was probably very traditional and was passed down from generation to generation in the little villages they grew up in. 

Now Salice Salentino wine can be made solely from Negroamaro, or can be made by blending with a grape called Malvasia Nera, but at least 80% of the wine must be made from Negroamaro in order to be called Salice Salentino. By the way, two of the wines we are drinking today are made from 100% Negroamaro, and one is made from a blend of Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera. 

Malvasia Nera is primarily used as a blending grape that helps add color and flavor to the wines it is blended with, and it is also grown in many areas of Italy. For instance in Piedmont, where Barolo and Barbaresco is from, they actually make wines just from Malvasia Nera.  And, Malvasia Nera is said to add richness and perfume to wines, adding aromas of dark berries, cherries, plums, chocolate, ground spices, and sometimes smoke and black tea. So how ‘bout dat?

But back to Salice Salentino. The wine comes from a very specific area in the heel of the boot of Italy in a region called Lecce that has been making wine for at least a thousand years, and is considered one of the most important wine making areas in Italy. It is also one of the most traditional and least industrialized wine making areas in Italy. Which is another reason why the wine is considered to be rustic. As you may expect, the weather in this part of Italy is very warm, so being close to the water is important because it can cool the air in the evening. Sometimes!

In terms of flavor profiles, it is sometimes compared to a rougher version of a Merlot or maybe a Zinfandel, but when made well, it can also be pretty smooth like both of those wines - not too acidic and not too tannic. So, if you like those kinds of red wines which tend to be round and smooth and juicy, you may like this wine!

And, as would be expected, this is a food friendly wine, because, as we like to say, Italians considered wine to be the fifth food group, and you can assume it will go well with all sorts of Southern Italian foods, which are a lot of the Italian foods that are loved across the world like pizza and spaghetti with marinara sauce. 

This is also a wine that can be drunk relatively young, but still does need a little bit of time to mellow before you just crack it open. In general, Salice Salentino has to be aged for two years before they release it, and has to be in oak for 6-12 months, so the oak will add some tannin, but the aging will also help to mellow it out. You can let these wines age for a while, but unless you have a riserva, I would think that around 10 years it is probably on the downside of its peak. 

So, this should be a fun, lively, and different wine than many of you out there in listening land are used to having, and so it should also be a really exciting wine to try to expand your wine horizons. 

So let’s learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. 

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.cantele.it/en/product/salice-salentino/ 
• https://www.italyabroad.com/grapes/malvasia-nera
• https://www.winetraveler.com/grape/malvasia/ 
• https://www.winespectator.com/articles/what-does-it-mean-when-a-wine-is-described-as-rustic
• https://www.winetourism.com/wine-appellation/salice-salentino/
• http://www.diwinetaste.com/dwt/en2009103.php

Salice Salentino Wines We Chose for This Episode 20:23

As usual, all of the wines we would have chosen for this episode are under $20, and all of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought them all either at Total Wine or online at wine.com. I also think you can find these wines if you go to a wine shop or a grocery store with a decently large wine selection, and definitely if you find one that specializes in Italian wine. So, while this may be a not super common wine, it is also not a rare wine. You will, however, have a hard time finding anything made from Negroamaro grapes outside of Italy, so if you want this wine or a wine made from the same grapes, you really will have to look for Italian wines. 

The first wine we are trying is called Marchese di Borgosole Salice Salentino Riserva, and while it can be found in many other wine shops, it is a winery direct wine from Total Wine. Wine Enthusiast gave the 2018 which we are drinking today an 87 rating, which is a good rating. I would consider that similar to when we give a wine a 7 out of ten rating. 

This wine is made with 100% Negroamaro, and they use malolactic fermentation, which is used to mellow out a wine, so in theory, this may not be as rustic as some other Salice Salentino’s. They do ferment the wine in stainless steel tanks, they age the wine for at least 2 years, and they have the wine in oak barrels for 6 months.

It was hard to find out too many more specifics about this wine and the people who make it, so we’ll move on.

The second wine we are drinking today is the Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva, and it is also 100% Negroamaro. Similar to the previous wine, it is fermented in stainless steel tanks, is fined - which means that they use a substance to clear the wine of any particles that may be left behind, but they use animal products so this wine is not vegan. By the way, you can find out more about what makes a wine vegan in episode 41, which guest stars our son Giuseppe and his girlfriend Kiera. 

Cantele ages their wines for 6 months in French oak, which as we have said in other episodes is a more mellow oak compared to American oak. And, in general, when you see the word riserva or reserva or reserve on a wine, it often means it is aged longer before it is released.

While this 2018 vintage of the wine does not have any ratings, the previous year - 2017 - got an 88 from both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.

This winery was started in 1979 by a father and two sons who had moved to Puglia from a small city called Imola near Bologna, which is in Northern Italy. Today, the children and grandchildren now run it, so it is definitely a family affair! 

And, our last wine is called Taurino Salice Salentino and it is a 2011, so we are really going to see how longer aging of this wine goes. This is the one wine we are tasting today that is also not a riserva and not 100% Negroamaro. It is 90% Negroamaro and 10% Malvasia Nera. 

Evidently, the Taurino winemakers pick both of the grapes together and ferment them together in stainless steel, so I am making the assumption that since they are calling that out, that may not be totally typical in terms of blending. Instead, I think wines are usually fermented separately, and then blended together in a mix that can change in order to make a more consistent wine year over year. Taurino also ages their wines in what they call medium-toast French oak barrels, which means they will give off a smoky flavor but maybe not as much as a fully toasted oak barrel, and they are aged for 4-6 months in those barrels. 

One of the publications I found indicated that they use sustainable farming practices in their growing of their grapes, but again, which was the case for all of these wines, finding a ton out about the wines was not super easy, but we did find enough. 

We have links to all of this information and more in our show notes if you head over to our website and look for this episode. 

So, on that note, I think we have been talking enough and it’s time to get drinking! Whaddya say?!?


ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.botter.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/MARCHESE_DI_BORGOSOLE_SALICE_SALENTINO_DOC_RISERVA_ENG_REV1.pdf 
• https://www.cantele.it/en/product/salice-salentino/ 
• https://www.skurnik.com/sku/salice-salentino-cosimo-taurino-2-2/ 
• http://www.taurinovini.com/wines/cosimo-taurino/ 

Salice Salentino Wine Pairing Tasting and Reviews 27:18

Wine: Marchese di Borgosole Salice Salentino Riserva
Region: Puglia, Salice Salentino
Producer: Marchese di Borgosole
Year: 2018
Price: $11.69
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grapes: 100% Negroamaro
Professional Rating: WE 87

What we tasted and smelled in this Salice Salentino:

• On the nose: Smoke, black cherry, wood, red licorice
• In the mouth: Tart cherry, tannic, good mouth feel, sour cherry ball, red plum, not complex. Pleasant, likable, easy drinking. 

Food to pair with this Salice Salentino: Pizza, lasagna, Sunday roast, spaghetti and tomato sauce, spaghetti and meatballs, rich cheese, salumi. 
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Rating: 

• Joe: 7/10
• Carmela: 7/10

Wine: Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: Puglia, Salice Salentino
Producer: Cantele
Year: 2018
Price: $15.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: 100% Negroamaro 

What we tasted and smelled in this Salice Salentino:

• On the nose: Richer, earth, more complex, licorice, dark cherry, rose, a bit of tar
• In the mouth: Richer, more depth, more flavor, pleasant, not as tart, a ripe cherry, grippy tannin, cherry skin, nice finish. Approachable

Food to pair with this Salice Salentino: Same as above. Also spicier foods. Puttanesca. Good with vegetarian foods like eggplant parmigiana, bruschetta, caprese, burrata. Olives. Outstanding with food. 

Rating: 

• Joe: 8/10
• Carmela: 8/10

Wine: Taurino Salice Salentino (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. Affiliate link)
Region: Puglia, Salice Salentino
Producer: Taurino
Year: 2011
Price: $17.99
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 14%
Grapes: 90% Negroamaro, 10% Malvasia Nera

What we tasted and smelled in this Salice Salentino:

• On the nose: Earth, mushroom, old wine cellar, cooked plum, cooked cherry, smoke, sweet tobacco 
• In the mouth: Tart plum, tart blackberry, tart berries, cranberry, pomegranate, black currant. Past its prime?

Food to pair with this Salice Salentino: Better with food. Southern Italian food. 

Rating: 

• Joe: 6/10
• Carmela: 6/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

• Carmela: Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva
• Joe: Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva

Taste profiles expected from Salice Salentino   44:48

• From ChatGPT
  • Aroma: The wine has a rich, complex aroma of ripe red and black fruits, such as cherries, blackberries, and plums, along with hints of spice, tobacco, and earthy notes.
  • Taste: On the palate, Salice Salentino is full-bodied with firm tannins, high acidity, and a rich, fruity flavor profile dominated by ripe cherry and blackberry fruit, along with notes of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. The finish is long and lingering, with a pleasant bitterness.
  • Wine Folly: Black cherry, black plum, blackberry, prune, dried thyme
• Marchese di Borgosole
  • WE: Cherries and blackberries sit on top of soil, underbrush and a bit of woodsmoke on the nose, while the palate of this Negroamaro moves into darker, denser fruit, from black cherries and blackberries to figs and raisins, with chocolate and some salty, rocky gravel, held up by a backbone of acid
  • JS: This has aromas of walnuts, stewed blackberries, smoked meat, and roasted coffee on the nose. Full - bodied, rich and smoky, with chewy tannins. 
• Cantele
  • Winery: Candied fruits and spices that evolve into clean underbrush, tea, and amber notes. Enhanced by notes of red flowers, the aromas return on the palate transported by confident but not overbearing alcohol. The tannins and fresh acidity work in counterpoint to create a balanced, soft wine.
• Taurino
  • Eataly: There is a rich, slightly rustic mouth feel to a finished wine imbued with a slightly burnt, earthy quality that accentuates deep, roasted plum and mocha toned fruit with notes of spices.
  • Shelf talker: Flavors of pepper, cola and cherries follow through to a long, satisfying finish.

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 47:52

Ok, so, Carmela, it is just about time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - AND if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast AND also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast service - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

We would also love to hear from you about a wine you would like us to taste and review. You can, leave a message for us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, or you can just email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and tell us about a wine you are curious about, or curious what we think of it. And, follow us on Instagram so you can see pictures of all of these wines we are tasting and reviewing. 

And, we would love it if you would tell a couple of friends or family members about us, and listen to our next episode with your mom! Or your best friend!

Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.