Matera

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The territory is divided into three distinct environments: the coastal plain with flat topography and highly varied lithological substrate, the marine terraces, and the surfaces of the Fossa Bradanica.
• The marine terraces above the coastal plain connect to the hilly relief with highly evolved, deep, well-drained or moderately well-drained soils of intense red colour owing to their high iron content and the intense weathering of the gravels.
• The surfaces of the Fossa Bradanica cover much of the hilly terrain of the Matera area, from Irsina in the north to Pisticci in the south, with sandy-conglomeratic lithologies and highly calcareous soils of elevated permeability.

• Malvasia bianca di Basilicata is grown in higher-elevation areas with a cooler climate, while at lower elevations sparkling wine production based on Primitivo predominates, with excellent structure and alcoholic strength.
• The first sparkling wine productions in the Matera area date back to the early 1900s, and between 1950 and 1960 many estates, some of which are still active, specialised in this sector.

• The white wines are fresh, lightly coloured, and more or less light-bodied, with good acidity and savouriness owing to the diurnal temperature range and the sandy components of the soils.
• In passito wines, the characteristics of colour intensity and aromatic finesse are heightened by the accumulation of sugars and the concentration of extracts resulting from the appassimento of the grapes, with predominantly fruity aromas of berries and stone fruits, as well as floral notes.

• In passito wines, the climate and the predominantly south-south-east exposition of the vineyards allow excellent ripening, contributing to the attainment of healthy grapes better suited to the appassimento process.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0533
• Official trade body site — Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Matera