Frisino

Contrary to its name, the Valle d’Itria isn’t actually a valley, but a depression in the limestone plateau of the Murgia, carved out over millennia by water moving underground. With elevations between 300 and 500 metres, it offers growing conditions markedly cooler than the Puglian coast below. The same limestone that shapes the vineyards also built the trulli, the conical dry-stone houses that make this one of the most recognisable landscapes in southern Italy.

Frisino has farmed about 100 hectares on the edge of this country, at Crispiano in the province of Taranto, since 1984. This land is split between vines and olive groves, as is traditional in the area, and the estate produces some excellent olive oil.

The business was founded by Mario and Pina Frisino, but its shape today owes as much to their children, Flavia and Francesco, who returned to Puglia after university and immediately set about shaking things up. Taking the reins, the pair brought new designs, new production methods, and an ambitious plan for export. You can see this lineage in the portfolio itself, which is inspired by the family; with labels tied to the parents who founded the estate, the children who took it on, and the land they all love.

Frisino’s vineyards are planted largely with the native varieties of the Valle d’Itria, including Verdeca and Bianco d’Alessano (signatures of the crisply acidic local whites), alongside Primitivo on the red side. The combination of altitude, limestone soils and the breezes that cross the plateau from both the Adriatic and the Ionian keeps the nights cool, allowing Frisino to produce wines of elegance and precision rather than simply weight.