Elfo Negroamaro Salento

Apollonio Elfo Negroamaro Salento is ideal as an aperitif or with appetizers, “peperonata”, slow roasted lamb and potatoes, grilled tuna steaks and dishes typical of the Puglia cuisine such as chickpeas and pasta.

In 1870 Noè Apollonio planted his own vineyard and produced wine for the first time. He owned a winery in his hometown Aradeo, in ‘Via dei Pozzi Dolci”, the street of wineries and pasta-makers. It was in this plant that he first turned into wine Negroamaro and Primitivo grapes harvested on chalky-clay soils from the nearby villages. Driven by the same passion inherited from his father Noè, son Marcello proved to be just as hardworking and enthusiastic. After moving to the town of Maglie, he bought some vineyards and rented various wine plants all across the Salento territory. The increased production helped to satisfy his numerous clients, especially those from northern Italy. In fact, Salento’s wine - due to its high alcoholic content - then served as an excellent “blending wine” and wine merchants from Piedmont, Veneto, Lombardy and Tuscany bought it in bulk to bottle their wines. At the end of World War II, while poverty was slowly giving way to an economic boom and the market was changing, Marcello’s son, Salvatore, realized that it was time to take advantage of new business opportunities. By introducing business management, he started a new era characterized by a more modern and efficient production, and in 1975 began bottling high-quality wines under the Apollonio brand. Today and since 1995, Marcello and Massimiliano Apollonio represent the family’s fourth generation. Driven by enthusiasm and passion as well as by experience acquired on the field, they have been pursuing the ambitious goal of expanding the reach of their wines beyond the national borders. Under their new management, Apollonio has specialized in wine aging and expanded its retailing network. Apollonio’s wines are now sold in 35 countries, where they are greatly appreciated for their intrinsic quality and for telling the story of a family and a territory whose identities and authenticity have been left untouched.

Salento lies east of the Apulia region, in the deep south of Italy. Warm and friendly and preserved by a centuries-old isolation, it has kept its genuine folklore and ancient wine-growing tradition alive. Being as it is the heel of the boot-shaped Italian peninsula as well as its easternmost part – from the beautiful cliffs of the Adriatic Sea to the gentle, sandy beaches of the Ionian sea – Salento boasts the highest number of DOC wines produced in Apulia. The production area is mostly flat, dotted with a few low hills. From a geological point of view, the region has a calcareous structure. Except for a few areas, its ground is mostly rocky, made up of stony layers and chalky banks.

Apollonio Elfo Negroamaro Salento ages in stainless steel for 3 months before bottling.

In order to obtain a good acidity, the grapes are at times harvested earlier so as to maintain high levels of fixed acidity and refined aromas. Soft pressing, which allows to preserve the grapes’ floral, fruity taste. Two weeks of controlled-temperature fermentation.