Where our fine artisanal organic wine production comes from
To produce its artisanal organic wines, Azienda Agricola Santa Lucia grows mainly Apulian native vines in the four fields of the farm located in the Santa Lucia district, west of Corato (BA), at 250 meters above sea level.
The names of the four fields are Melograno, Santa Lucia, Tufaroli e Castigliola, and the total surface is little less than 15 hectares.
Since 1995, the farming system has been at a high espalier with a single Guyot, 5600 plants per hectare, a high rate between leaves surface and grapes produced (about 1sq m. / 1 kg) and a low production rate per plant, 1,5 – 2 kg maximum per plant. Only one hectare, planted in 1995, was cultivated at “pergola” to preserve diversity and provide shade in the hottest summers (Nero di Troia, 80%, and Bombino Nero, 20%).
Organic fertilization with manure pellets and green manure every other year.
Our Bombino Nero plantation was grown for half at pergola starting from 1990; the other half at high espalier more recently, still with the Guyot system, which in Italian is called “capo rinnovato”. It is a kind of cultivation that provides reduced plant expansion, controlled bud development, and an integral yearly regeneration of branches. This farming is more difficult to run but more suitable for Nero di Troia and high-quality vineyard production. Subsequently, it allows for better quality and structure of grapes, more softness at tannin, with identical production rates per hectare obtained with a higher contribution level given by plant, roots and leaves.
The nutritional treasure that the ground offers the plant is concentrated within every cluster, with not more than 70 cm of distance between roots and fruit (for the espalier side, it equates to 90% of the grapes’ cultivated surface). The average yields of our vineyards stand between 6,000 and 9,000 kg per hectare. Irrigation is applied only in case of emergency, and today is required to achieve high-quality standards. It was introduced forty years ago to increase production, while today it is used only to preserve and save it from the effects of climate change, which is very important to us professional vinegrowers.
