Uva di Troia is a red wine grape variety grown in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region of Puglia, particularly in the areas around Andria and Barletta

Barletta

Barletta is a city and comune located in the north of Apulia in south eastern Italy. Its current population is 94,140.It is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue, representing a Roman Emperor...

, and in the Province of Bari

Province of Bari

The Province of Bari is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari.It has an area of 5,138 km², and a total population of 1,594,109 . There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Bari...

.

The name probably derives from the town of Troia in the Province of Foggia

Province of Foggia

The 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...

 whose legendary founder was the Greek hero Diomedes

Diomedes

Diomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, known for his participation in the Trojan War.He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his maternal grandfather, Adrastus. In Homer's Iliad Diomedes is regarded alongside Ajax as one of the best warriors of all...

, who had destroyed the ancient Troy

Troy

Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

. Synonyms include: Nero di Troia, Sumarello, Uva di Canosa, Uva di Barletta, Troiano, Tranese, and Uva della Marina.

Characteristics

The vine is fairly vigorous with lots of girth and carries large, rather compact, pyramidal (sometimes “winged”) clusters of violet coloured grapes which ripen mid-season. It is adaptable to a variety of soils and does not suffer unduly from Puglia’s high temperatures, although hot winds may cause problems.

Wines

Uva di Troia may be used by itself or blended with such grapes as Bombino Nero, 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...

 or Sangiovese

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...

. Where DOC

Denominazione di Origine Controllata

Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...

 wines are concerned, the grape is the principal component of the wines Rosso Barletta and Rosso Canosa; Castel del Monte may also be produced as a pure Uva di Troia varietal wine; it is also used in Cacc'e Mmitte di Lucera (35-60%), Orta Nova (up to 40%) and Rosso di Cerignola.

External links

• LaViniUm, Guida dei vitigni: Uva di Troia
• vinoinrete.it, Uva di Troia
• Epicurious, Uva di Troia