Le Rosa del Salice
Salento, a tribute to Stefano Farina
An old 18th century farm with a stern, noble profile, typical of Salentese rural architecture: charmingly nestled within a ring of 400 olive trees. This is the face of La Rosa Del Salice, our property in its namesake town northwest of Lecce, Salice Salentino.
Turning it into a vineyard was a major task, to which we dedicated ourselves for three years. Through prolonged crushing and earthworks, this very stony land, traditionally dedicated to agriculture, became 20 acres of freshly-planted native vines: negroamaro, primitivo del Salento, and malvasia nera di Lecce.
We chose to cultivate using the modern spurred cordon training system, which provides optimum foliage exposure, and allowed us to streamline every aspect of work in the vineyard. These are ideal conditions for fostering the best ripening.
- Surface
- 22 hectares, of which 20 are vineyards
- Soil Type
- Clay mixed with crushed limestone
- Exposure
- Flat
- Main grape variety
- Negroamaro
Soil
These clay soils mixed with crushed limestone were traditionally planted with wheat and cereal, and later used for the cultivation of melons. Seeing them transformed into vineyards has always touched us deeply.
Climate
Hot and breezy, enjoying the beneficial effects of the sea air which enhances grape maturation and often brings the harvest forward.
Grapes
Negroamaro is the most widely planted vine in Apulia, and particularly so in Salento. This dark grape gives us full, well-rounded intense aromatic wines, with a pleasant, slightly bitter taste.
The terroir
La Rosa del Salice
Agricultural land by tradition, from the mid-19th century the Salento region has provided France and the rest of Italy with healthy phylloxera-free grapes. With an eye to protecting indigenous treasures, we too decided to invest in the development of this territory. Today we are proud to contribute to the well-deserved revival of Apulian winemaking.