Negroamaro
Encyclopedia
Negroamaro, also Negro amaro, is a red wine
grape
variety native to southern Italy. It is grown almost exclusively in Puglia and particularly in Salento
, the peninsula which can be visualised as the “heel” of Italy. The grape can produce wines very deep in color. Wines made from Negroamaro tend to be very rustic in character, combining perfume with an earthy bitterness. The grape produces some of the best red wines of Puglia, particularly when blended with the highly scented Malvasia Nera, as in the case of Salice Salentino.
for ‘bitter’, the name is thought to derive from two words meaning ‘black’: the Latin language
‘negro’ and the ancient Greek
‘maru’.
'Maru' shares a root with "merum", a wine brought to Puglia by Illyria
n colonists before the Greeks arrived in the 7th century BC. Horace and other Roman writers mention "mera tarantina" from Taranto
, and Pliny the Elder describes Manduria
as 'viticulosa' (full of vineyards). But after the fall of the Roman Empire winemaking declined until it was only kept alive in the monasteries - Benedictine on Murgia
and Greek Orthodox in Salento
. Negroamaro could be the grape used in merum, or it could have been brought by traders from the home of winemaking in Asia Minor at any point in the last 8000 years.
Negroamaro precoce has recently been identified as a distinct clone.
RAPD
analysis suggests that it is loosely related to Verdicchio
(Verdeca) and Sangiovese
.
or Montepulciano
. These wines are red, or sometimes rosato
, and are usually still; though both red and rosato versions may be frizzante.
85%–100% Negroamaro:
85%–100% Negroamaro:
70%–100% Negroamaro:
65%–100% Negroamaro:
60%–80% Negroamaro:
50%–100% Negroamaro:
15%–30% Negroamaro:
85%–100% Negroamaro:
70%–100% Negroamaro:
70%–80% Negroamaro:
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
variety native to southern Italy. It is grown almost exclusively in Puglia and particularly in Salento
Salento
Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...
, the peninsula which can be visualised as the “heel” of Italy. The grape can produce wines very deep in color. Wines made from Negroamaro tend to be very rustic in character, combining perfume with an earthy bitterness. The grape produces some of the best red wines of Puglia, particularly when blended with the highly scented Malvasia Nera, as in the case of Salice Salentino.
History
Although amaro is the ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
for ‘bitter’, the name is thought to derive from two words meaning ‘black’: the Latin language
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
‘negro’ and the ancient Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
‘maru’.
'Maru' shares a root with "merum", a wine brought to Puglia by Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
n colonists before the Greeks arrived in the 7th century BC. Horace and other Roman writers mention "mera tarantina" from Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
, and Pliny the Elder describes Manduria
Manduria
Manduria is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Taranto. With c. 30,000 inhabitants, it is located 35 km east of Taranto, and 14 km north of the coast.-History:...
as 'viticulosa' (full of vineyards). But after the fall of the Roman Empire winemaking declined until it was only kept alive in the monasteries - Benedictine on Murgia
Murgia
Murgia is a sub-region of Apulia in southern Italy, corresponding to a karst topographic plateau of rectangular shape, occupying the central area of the region. The name stems from the Latin murex, meaning "sharp stone"....
and Greek Orthodox in Salento
Salento
Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...
. Negroamaro could be the grape used in merum, or it could have been brought by traders from the home of winemaking in Asia Minor at any point in the last 8000 years.
Negroamaro precoce has recently been identified as a distinct clone.
RAPD
RAPD
RAPD stands for random amplification of polymorphic DNA. It is a type of PCR reaction, but the segments of DNA that are amplified are random. The scientist performing RAPD creates several arbitrary, short primers , then proceeds with the PCR using a large template of genomic DNA, hoping that...
analysis suggests that it is loosely related to Verdicchio
Verdicchio
Verdicchio is a white Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in the Marche region of central Italy. The name Verdicchio derives from verde and refers to the slight green/yellow hue that wines made from the grape can have....
(Verdeca) and Sangiovese
Sangiovese
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...
.
Distribution and wines
The grapes are used exclusively for wine-making. Although 100% varietal wines are produced, Negroamaro is more commonly used as the dominant component of a blend including such varieties as Malvasia Nera, SangioveseSangiovese
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...
or Montepulciano
Montepulciano (grape)
Montepulciano is a red Italian wine grape variety that is most noted for being the primary grape behind the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita wine Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane and the Denominazione di origine controllata wines of Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno.It should...
. These wines are red, or sometimes rosato
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
, and are usually still; though both red and rosato versions may be frizzante.
List of permitted DOC wines
Source85%–100% Negroamaro:
- in the province of LecceProvince of LecceThe Province of Lecce is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. Totally included in the Salento peninsula, it is the second most populous province in Apulia and the twenty-first most populous in Italy....
- Leverano Nergroamaro Rosato
- Leverano Nergroamaro Rosso
- in the province of TarantoProvince of TarantoThe Province of Taranto is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Taranto.It has an area of 2,437 km², and a total population of 580,588...
- Lizzano Negroamaro Rosato
- Lizzano Negroamaro Rosso
- Lizzano Negroamaro Rosso Superiore
85%–100% Negroamaro:
- in the province of Lecce
- Alezio Riserva
- Alezio Rosato
- Alezio Rosso
- Nardo' Rosato
- Nardo' Rosso
- Nardo' Rosso Riserva
- in the provinces of BrindisiProvince of BrindisiThe Province of Brindisi is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. Surrounded by vineyards and artichoke fields, Brindisi is a major sailing port for the southern part of Italy....
and Lecce- Salice Salentino
- Salice Salentino Rosato
- Salice Salentino Rosso
- Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva
70%–100% Negroamaro:
- in the province of Brindisi
- Brindisi Rosato
- Brindisi RossoBrindisi RossoBrindisi Rosso is a red DOC wine from the Southern Italian province of Brindisi, in the region of Puglia . The official appellation was granted on November 22, 1979 with presidential decree , under request from Pasquale Medico and Sons and other producers...
- Brindisi Rosso Riserva
- in the province of Lecce
- Copertino Rosato
- Copertino Rosso
- Copertino Rosso Riserva
- Matino Rosato
- Matino Rosso
- in the provinces of Brindisi and Lecce
- Squinzano Rosato
- Squinzano Rosso
- Squinzano Rosso Riserva
65%–100% Negroamaro:
- in the province of Lecce
- Galatina Rosso
60%–80% Negroamaro:
- in the province of Taranto
- Lizzano
- Lizzano Rosato
- Lizzano Rosato Frizzante
- Lizzano Rosato Giovane
- Lizzano Rosato Spumante
- Lizzano Rosso
- Lizzano Rosso Frizzante
- Lizzano Rosso Giovane
50%–100% Negroamaro:
- in the province of Lecce
- Leverano Novello
- Leverano Rosato
- Leverano Rosso
- Leverano Rosso Riserva
15%–30% Negroamaro:
- in the province of FoggiaProvince of FoggiaThe Province of Foggia is a province in the Apulia region of Italy.This province is also known as Capitanata, originally Catapanata, because during the Middle Ages it was governed by a catapan, as part of the Catapanate of Italy...
- Rosso di Cerignola
- Rosso di Cerignola Riserva
List of permitted IGT wines
Source85%–100% Negroamaro:
- Puglia Negroamaro
- Puglia Negroamaro frizzante
- Puglia Negroamaro novello
- Valle d’Itria Negroamaro
- Valle d’Itria Negroamaro frizzante
- Valle d’Itria Negroamaro novello
- Salento Negroamaro
- Salento Negroamaro frizzante
- Salento Negroamaro novello
- Daunia Negroamaro
- Daunia Negroamaro frizzante
70%–100% Negroamaro:
- Salento Rosato Negroamaro
- Salento Rosato Negroamaro frizzante
70%–80% Negroamaro:
- Tarantino Negroamaro
- Tarantino Negroamaro frizzante
Vine and viticulture
The vine is vigorous and high-yielding with a preference for calcareous and limey soils but adapting readily to others. It is well suited to Puglia’s hot summers and exhibits good drought-resistance. The grapes, carried in bunches of around 300–350 g, are oval in form, medium-large in size with thick skins, and black-violet in colour. They ripen mid-season (late September–early October). The first American producer of Negroamaro is Chiarito Vineyards in Ukiah, California (Mendocino County).Synonyms
Abbruzzese, Abruzzese, Albese, Amaro Nero, Amaronero, Arbese, Arbise, Jonico, Lacrima, Lacrimo, Mangia Verde, Mangiaverde, Mangiaverme, Morese, Negra Della Lorena, Negramaro, Nero Amaro, Nero Leccese, Nicra Amaro, Niuri Maru, Niuru Maru, San Lorenzo, San Marzuno, Uva cane.See also
- Primitivo, a similar grape from the region better known as Zinfandel (This comment needs further research as the best of wine people disagree as to whether Zinfandel is really Primitivo)