NEGROAMARO: HISTORY AND VIRTUES OF THE FIRST ITALIAN ROSÉ WINE

Let’s start immediately with the first fact on the Negroamaro:

The first rosé bottled in Italy was made by Negroamaro

Did you know that?

Five Roses is the first rosé wine bottled in Italy in 1943 by Leone de Castris in Salento. Obtained from a blend of Negroamaro and black Malvasia.

The grapes to produce this wine were those of the “Cinque Rose” estate, so called because for several generations the head of the family had had five daughters. The first supply of this wine was ordered by the American general Charles Poletti.
The name recalls both the estate of the Five Roses and the welcome appreciation of the general who found it tastier than whiskey four roses.

On the Leone de Castris website you can read:

“In the name, the echo of a district in the Salice Salentino fiefdom,” Cinque Rose “in fact, but also that tradition linked to the fact that for many generations each Leone de Castris had five children. It was at the end of the last war that General Charles Poletti, commissioner for the supplies of the allied forces, asked for a large supply of rosé wine. Italian yes, but with a strictly American name. Thus was born the Five Roses. “

Five Roses, a pink wine by Negroamaro certainly paved the way for the marketing of bottled rosé wines, which were then always sold in bulk.

“The first rosé bottled in Italy was a Negroamaro”

Negroamaro is a vine particularly suited to the production of pink wine. This is due to the good amount of anthocyanins and acids present in the grapes. The colors of the future wine will be intense and stable. The name Negroamaro in fact derives from a Latin word, niger, which means black and a Greek word, mauros, which means black.

The repetition of these two adjectives expresses one of the important characteristics of the grape, that of being black and therefore with a good amount of anthocyanins.
The best result is obtained with a short maceration or direct pressing.
Good results are also obtained through bloodletting.

Negroamaro is one of the most cultivated varieties in Puglia and has a strong vigor and an abundant production of grapes. Ripening is medium-late.

Among the rosé wines of Negroamaro we find some that have a good aging capacity and we find others that refine in wood. I’m talking about the Girofle Controcurrent of Cantine Garofano and the Vigna Mazzì di Rosa del Golfo.
Two great expressions of Negroamaro.

The notes of Negroamaro are fruity, floral, licorice and spicy. Above all, licorice expresses its uniqueness. They are enchanting, fragrant, balanced and suitable for aging.
Thanks to its good quantity of acids, from Negroamaro is it  also possible to obtain sparkling wines, especially those in pink.

The Apulian rosé wines from Negroamaro generally appear to be balanced and with a good structure and freshness balanced by the pseudo-caloric sensations, with an important intense aromatic persistence.