But why is the Nero di Velluto called that? Many times there is a lot of legitimate curiosity. Many people, when they visit the winery, come up with various answers: because it’s a wine that is soft and velvety on the palate, or because its colour resembles black velvet, and so on.
None of this.
Its name actually takes us back to a very beautiful and intriguing story.
In fact, we could describe the Nero di Velluto as a “modern Negroamaro conceived in 1918.” The inspiration for its name comes from an article published in 1918 titled ” The Harvest in Salento”, which appeared in the Milanese magazine Varietas, written by the Salento’s photographer and journalist Giuseppe Palumbo. This article happened to be among the many “papers” found in our winery. In one passage, he wrote: “…And at the foot of every vine, everything has become black velvet, everything is ripe, delightfully fragrant.”
To tell the whole story, it should be noted that this wine was created to correct a “natural accident.” It was 2002, and that vintage was one to forget. As a result, we decided to change the “harvesting strategy” mid-course by drying the best Negroamaro grapes from a traditional alberello vineyard in single-layer wooden crates for about thirty days.
The wine that was produced, around 18 hectoliters, was aged in 8 second-use barriques from a famous Burgundy winery. Thus, Nero di Velluto was born: only a few bottles, 2,298 in total, all hand-numbered and truly extraordinary.
In 2018, the label of Nero di Velluto underwent an improved restyling, making the bottle more elegant and in line with contemporary design trends. Its content, the wine, has passed every year’s “tests” and earned widespread acclaim from both the public and critics. In fact, it has been awarded the 5 grapes of “Bibenda” guide and the 4 vines by AIS for nine consecutive years!
