LLS Portfolio Book

Cantele

At the end of World War II, when most of the population of Puglia was moving North to work in the big factories near Torino and Milano, Giovanni Battista Cantele, a wine merchant living in the nothern city of Imola, moved his family to Salento. The final decision was made by his wife Teresa Manara, who at the time, barely knew anything about the area but fell in love with Puglia at first sight. She would later become the inspiration for a wine that now bears her name. After studying winemaking in Conegliano, Giovanni’s son, Augusto Cantele, started the family winery, Cantine Cantele, with his father and his brother Domenico in 1979. Today, Teresa Manara and Giovanni Battista Cantele’s grandchildren run the winery together: Augusto’s children, Gianni and Paolo; and Domenico’s children, Umberto and Luisa. Cantele is constantly working to change peoples’ perception of Puglian wine, and to use sustainable methods to create elegant wines that elevate the region. The Cantele winery is located in Guagnano, in the heart of the DOC where Negroamaro dominates a landscape surrounded by water and shaped by constant winds. Chardonnay Salento IGT Cantele set the standard for Italian Chardonnay when founding winemaker Augusto Cantele began experimenting with picking times and temperature-controlled fermentation in the 90s. Puglia’s limestone soils are ideal for producing fresh, balanced, and richly flavored Chardonnay with a mineral backbone.

Negroamaro Rosato Salento IGT Known as the gold standard in Pugliese rosé, Cantele’s Negroamaro Rosato regularly lands great scores from top reviewers including Robert Parker. This clean, bright, extremely fresh wine has intense notes of red berries and ripe red fruits.

Teresa Manara Chardonnay Salento IGT The Cantele family created this wine as an homage to their grandmother, Teresa Manara, who loved white wine. Aged in French barriques, this elegant expression of Pugliese viticulture is a benchmark for the appellation.

Primitivo Salento IGT Cantele became a Salento Primitivo pioneer when they released this wine more than three decades ago. Vinified in stainless steel and aged in oak, this lithe expression of Puglia’s most famous grape offers elegant red fruit flavors without ever overwhelming the palate.

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WINES OF SOUTHERN ITALY