Francesco Marra Malvasia Nera di Lecce

The coexistence of vineyards, grains and olive trees on the same farm is a very common agricultural practice known as multifunctional agriculture or polyculture. It is a successful strategy if properly planned and managed. Not only can it have benefits in terms of crop diversification, but it also allows for resource efficiency and agricultural sustainability. Francesco Marra uses this system on his 70-hectare farm in Ugento, in Salento (in the Apulia region of southern Italy). Following a philosophy of minimum intervention and based on organic treatments, he works the land with the intention of achieving the most faithful reflection of the terroir.

This is clear to see in Francesco Marra Malvasia Nera di Lecce, a wine made from the region’s native variety Malvasia Nera di Lecce, which grows in red soils rich in clay, iron and potassium, but poor in organic matter. Strains that express themselves to the maximum thanks to the heat and dryness of the Mediterranean. Once the grapes have been harvested by hand and selected, they ferment spontaneously in wooden vats for about 10 days, during which time they are manually punched down. The wine is then placed in stainless steel tanks for 18 months and finally bottled without adding sulphur.

Enhancing a variety that is an important part of Puglia’s winemaking heritage, Francesco Marra Malvasia Nera di Lecce is a natural red wine characterised by a rough and wild style that reflects the purest spirit of this region at the heel of Italy.