Natalino Is Our Favorite

5/9/13 -

(Natalino del Prete at Villa Favorita, April 2013)

Puglia is known for producing huge quantities of ‘value’ wines, but making ‘value’ wine means chemical farming, high-volume yields, mechanical harvesting, and industrial production methods. There are some exceptions, and quite a few new or newly-revived Puglian wineries make polished and elegant wines, many of them trying to compete with other internationally-styled wines (including their rather high prices). Much more rare are exceptions to the golden rule of “you get what you pay for” – cheap wine is usually cheap wine in every regard – but this is not the case with Natalino del Prete, who remains our favorite Puglian producer, especially considering the ratio of price : quality. Some factors that help distinguish del Prete include decades of organic farming (certified since 1994), local grapes only (we’re seeing plenty of Puglian wines blended with Cabernet, etc), small-scale (about 15 acres yield just 1700 cases of wine from very old vines), hand-harvesting, natural fermentation, and no sulphur - or anything else - added to the wines. They communicate a sense of place that synchs with our imagined idea of Puglia (we haven’t gotten to the heel of the boot yet); they have terrific energy and purity; they’re juicy and delicious, rustic and not shy – as Natalino says “you want something nice to eat with this”.