Podere 29 farms in Puglia, the heel of Italy, where white grapes ripen under a long, hot sun and still keep their acid. This is Fiano, the grape Campania is known for, grown here in the south and bottled under the IGT Puglia banner rather than any single village name. The 2021 vintage is dry, medium in body, and built on high acidity.
- Fiano Minutolo, a southern Italian white grape.
- IGT Puglia, from the south of Italy.
- 2021 vintage, dry, 12% alcohol.
- High acidity, medium body, low tannin.
- 750ml bottle.
How it is made
IGT is the loosest of Italy's three tiers, below DOC and DOCG. That freedom is the point here: it lets a Puglian estate work with a grape that belongs to Campania on paper, without chasing an appellation that would never have allowed it. Fiano Minutolo is the local name for the grape, and it holds its acid well in heat, which is why it survives the south.
How it tastes
White peach and lemon zest first, then orange blossom, a clear almond note on the back, and a stony, mineral edge underneath. The acidity is high and the fruit is ripe, so it reads fresh rather than sharp, with a texture the estate calls three-dimensional. Straw yellow in the glass.
Good to know
Fiano was nearly abandoned in the 1970s, written off as a workhorse grape for bulk wine. It was revived through the 1980s and 1990s in Avellino, and plantings have since spread well beyond Campania, into Puglia and further south.
