Summary
Vigneti del Salento is the Puglian flagship of the Fantini Group – the producer group that Valentino Sciotti founded in Abruzzo in 1994 and that today makes wine across much of southern Italy. The work takes place in the western Salento, in the province of Taranto around Sava and Manduria, right in the heart of the Primitivo di Manduria appellation. At its core are ancient alberello bush vines, some around 100 years old, farmed through long-standing partnerships with local grower families. The house is known for its three quality tiers I Muri, Zolla and Vigne Vecchie – the last of these the top wine from old vines.
History
The story of Vigneti del Salento is inseparable from the Fantini Group. Valentino Sciotti founded the company in 1994 in Abruzzo with an ambition unusual for southern Italy at the time: to stop delivering anonymous bulk wine to the north and instead bottle wines of reliable quality under its own name – at a price that makes them accessible to a broad international audience.
What began on the Abruzzo coast gradually expanded southwards. Puglia was the obvious second home: hardly any other Italian region had so much old, undervalued vine material. Out of that expansion came Vigneti del Salento, a Puglian estate in its own right whose wines are made in the province of Taranto on the western flank of the Salento – among other places at the winery in Sava, immediately next to the vineyards of Manduria.
Rather than buying up large holdings of its own, the house has built a network of long-standing relationships with local grower families over the years, many of whom have farmed their historic parcels for generations. For Puglia as a whole the group cites around 615 hectares of vineyard and roughly 348 grower partners. On site, resident winemaker Danilo Gizzi is responsible for the wines, supported by consultant oenologist Filippo Baccalaro, who comes from Piedmont and has worked in Puglia for close to two decades.
Location & Terroir
The Salento is the heel of the Italian boot – a flat to gently rolling peninsula between the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea. Vigneti del Salento works in the Alto Salento, its north-western part, between the communes of Sava and Manduria in the province of Taranto. The vineyards lie at roughly 60 to 150 metres above sea level, mostly facing south to south-east and planted at around 4,000 to 5,000 vines per hectare.
Defining are the iron-rich red clay soils over a limestone base, as typical for the Salento. They store warmth, hold moisture through dry summers and give Primitivo exactly the conditions it needs: plenty of sun, full ripeness, yet healthy grapes. Because the sea is never far away, steady winds bring cool nights and a freshness that keeps the wines lively despite high ripeness levels.
The real treasure, though, is the alberello bush vines. This traditional Puglian training system without wires allows no machine harvesting, but delivers very small yields and exceptionally concentrated berries. Some of these vines are around 100 years old – a stock that has become rare in Puglia and was grubbed up in many places over the past decades.
Style & Philosophy
Stylistically, Vigneti del Salento stands for the warm, immediately approachable character of Puglia: dark, fully ripe fruit, cherry and blackberry, Mediterranean herbal spice, soft tannins and moderate acidity. The wines are deliberately generous in build; the alcohol levels of the top wines sit well above 14% vol.
In the cellar, modern technology is used with restraint. The team's guiding line runs roughly: little technology, plenty of know-how. The aim is not to impose a style on the wines but to bring the power of the old vines into the bottle as unadulterated as possible. Ageing in French oak serves structure and texture, not oak aroma.
Equally characteristic is the clearly tiered structure of the range: from an approachable entry level via a selection from older bush vines through to the top wine from the oldest parcels. That logic – same style, rising concentration – has done much to make the brand so readable internationally. The range is rounded out by rosati from Negroamaro, fresh white wines and the rediscovered Susumaniello.
Notable Sites & Wines
As a producer working across many parcels in the Alto Salento, Vigneti del Salento defines itself not through single vineyards but through its ranges:
- Vigne Vecchie – Primitivo di Manduria DOC from the oldest alberello vines, aged twelve months in new French oak; the estate's top wine
- Vigne Vecchie Leggenda – the limited Gold Series bottling of the Vigne Vecchie, the calling card of the collection
- Zolla – a selection from bush vines over 30 years old between Manduria and Sava, at around 70 to 100 metres of altitude; available as Primitivo di Manduria DOC and as Salice Salentino DOC, among others
- I Muri – the entry-level range, named after the dry-stone walls around the vineyards, built from the stones cleared when the vines were planted; as Primitivo, Negroamaro and a white blend
Alongside these come rosati, sparkling wines and sweet specialities from the Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale DOCG.
Awards
The wines of Vigneti del Salento are regularly tasted and rated by the international trade press; the Vigne Vecchie in particular and the limited Leggenda bottling appear reliably in the ratings of major wine magazines and guides.
The most important recognition, however, falls to the parent company: since 2017 the Fantini Group has been named best Italian producer five times at the Grand International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI, most recently at the Spring Tasting 2026. Vigneti del Salento thus belongs to those Puglian addresses that have given the reputation of the Salento – and above all that of Primitivo di Manduria – new international weight.