Produttori Vini Manduria

Produttori di Manduria is the oldest active wine cooperative in Puglia: it was first established in 1928 as “Federazione Vini di Manduria” and then converted in to a cooperative in 1932 as “Consorzio Vini e Mosti di Manduria”. There are 400 small growers farming 900 hectares of vineyards with an average 2.25 hectares per member. Each grower is able to carry out most of the vineyard management by hand with an extreme attention to quality. Primitivo represents the major focus of the winery, both in terms of vineyards planted (over 60% of the total) and in terms of tradition: Manduria is considered the birth place of the native Primitivo grape.The Growers are locally known as the “Masters of Primitivo”, and the membership of the Coop has been proudly handed down from Father to Son for generations. This historical connection between the Cooperative and Manduria is reflected today in the new name of the Winery: Produttori di Manduria – Maestri in Primitivo

A native of the area and one of the most renowned Apulian Winemakers, Leonardo Pinto has worked as the consulting winemaker at Produttori di Manduria for over 20 years. He’s considered the Father of Primitivo di Manduria, and a real expert of this native Apulian grape.

Leonardo’s most important job at Produttori di Manduria is to craft wines that respect Primitivo’s varietal character and that speak of the unique growing conditions in Manduria. He’s constantly assisting the growers with best practices and technical advices in order to help them farm their land in the most environmentally conscious way and to produce healthy, high-quality grapes. He considers having over 500 hectares of Primitivo vineyards, most of which are well over 50+ years old, like having a widely-diversified set of colors, with which to paint various expressions of Primitivo di Manduria. Thanks to Produttori’s vast assortment of Primitivo vineyards, Mr Pinto is able to craft different versions of this unique wine.