The region of Apulia (in Italian Puglia) with the capital Bari is located deep in the south on the Adriatic coast. In contrast to the other southern regions, there are hardly any mountains; the landscape consists of plateaus and plains. There is a dry and hot climate with little rainfall. From the spur near Foggia to the tip of the boot heel behind Lecce, Puglia stretches over 400 km. Puglia has most of the grape varieties in southern Italy, around 80 percent of which are red. The finest qualities of Puglia grow on the Salento peninsula. The Salento includes the territory of the province of Lecce as well as most of the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto. Thanks to the mutual proximity of the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, the nights cool down here to the extent necessary for quality cultivation.
The red grape varieties are Aleatico, Bombino Nero, Malvasia Nera di Brindisi, Malvasia Nera di Lecce, Montepulciano, Negroamaro, Primitivo, Sangiovese, Susumaniello and Uva di Troia. The most common whites are Bombino Bianco, Fiano, Falanghina, Impigno, Moscato di Trani and Verdeca. Most of Italy's wine is produced here on a vineyard area of 106,715 hectares (even more than in all of Germany). Together with Sicily, it is at the top of the Italian wine production volume. A large part of the wines is used for the distillation of industrial alcohol and for the production of bulk wines.