Uva di Puglia PGI is a variety of

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

grown in the southern

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region of

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

(Puglia).

Origins

Since it was part of the

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...

has ever been characterised by an important production of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

and

table grape Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption while fresh, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, juice production, or for drying into raisins. ''Vitis vinifera'' table grapes can be in the form of either seeded or non-seeded varieta ...

. Regarding the varieties included in Uva di Puglia PGI (Grapes of Apulia), the first evidence dates back to the end of the 19th century when Sergio Musci from

Bisceglie Bisceglie (; nap, label= Biscegliese, Vescégghie) is a city and municipality of 55,251 inhabitants in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in the Apulia region (''Italian'': ''Puglia''), in southern Italy. The municipality has the fourth hig ...

started to successfully export it to the biggest cities of Northern Italy like Bologna, Milan and Turin. This type of grapes showed a great preservation of the organoleptic characteristics getting possible to export it to international markets without any problem. Therefore, at the beginning of the 20th century, Cav. Francesco De Villagomez from Bisceglie did the first exportation in Germany. In 1975, the export of Uva di Puglia amounted to 62.4% of the entire Italian table grape production destined for the foreign market. In 1985 it reached 74.1%.

Fruit characteristics

The varieties included in Uva di Puglia PGI are several. Among the white grapes, there are the varieties: ''Italia'', ''Regina'' and ''Victoria'', straw yellow-coloured. They have seeds, the pulp is crunchy and, above all the variety ''Italia'' has a Moscato flavour. The red variety is the ''Michele Palieri'' characterised by a dark colour and a less sweet taste while the pink one, the ''Red Globe'' is very sweet and it is perfect for making desserts and jam. The harvesting period starts during the second decade of July for the ''Victoria'' and the ''Michele Palieri'' and between the third decade of July and August for the other varieties. This product is rich in sugar as glucose and mannose and in mineral salts like potassium, iron and phosphorus. It is also rich in B vitamins and in C and K vitamin.

Geography

The area of production includes almost all the municipalities of Apulia under 330 m. above sea level (1082 ft.). Therefore, the villages of the area of the Subappennino Dauno are excluded. These lands are rich in calcium and potassium and are characterised by the mild climate also in winter.

Consortium

Consorzio di Tutela Uva di Puglia IGP, Bari * Apulia#Cuisine *

List of Italian products with protected designation of origin This is a list of Italian EU protected geographical indications as defined in the Council of the European Union Regulation CE 510/2006, which fall into three schemes. * 138 Italian products have Protected designation of origin (PDO) or D.O.P. () ...

References

{{Reflist Table grape varieties Cuisine of Apulia Agriculture in Italy Italian products with protected designation of origin Wine grapes of Apulia