Tre Bicchieri 2022 Previews. The best wines of Puglia

Tre Bicchieri in Puglia

The number of Tre Bicchieri is increasing (this year the region reached 20) but above all the number of producers in our main section is on the rise, reaching 46 and demonstrating consistent overall growth in regional production. As has been the case for some years now, Puglia once again demonstrates that it's Primitivo wine country, but it's worth noting the return of Negroamaro-based wines. If it's true, in fact, that Primitivo continues to make up the lion's share of wine's awarded, with the majority either being Primitivo monovarietals or blends that include the grape, we welcome with great satisfaction 2 regional classics into the Tre Bicchieri club, Cosimo Taurino's Notarpanaro and Agricole Vallone's Graticciaia, as well as an absolute newcomer, the Salice Salentino Rosso Le Pitre by Mottura Vini del Salento, all based on Negroamaro.

The best wines of Puglia

Our closing remarks, now a ritual (given how many years we have been pointing it out) concerns the weight of the bottles used and the unsustainable situation they've created: more and more Apulian producers seem convinced that no decent wine can be sold in a bottle that weighs less than a kilo, and therefore, for their premium wines, they opt for bottles that can reach up to 1200 grams. Of course we understand that the choice of 'ultra-heavy' bottles can help marketing in some cases, but one thing seems evident: the Italian market, and consumers in the most eco-friendly countries, are increasingly attentive to environmental 'best-practices', and any winery that claims organic and 'sustainable' production and that also wants to maintain some consistency and credibility should, in no case, use such heavy bottles.