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the soul pouring into the spirit of Nature: "Guarda il color del sol che si fa vino, giunto al'omor che della vite cola" (consider the sun's heat, which, blended with t h e m o i s t u r e pressed from the vine, turns into wine"). The vine, vitis vinifera, was likely already a cultiva- tion of Apulia and of the South of Italy, before the arrival of the Greeks, howev- er, some of the varietals con- sidered typical of the region were, indeed, introduced by t h e G r e e k s t h e m s e l v e s . Through the times of the Republic and the Empire, the Romans extended the cultivation of the vine not only all over Italy, but also in the provinces they would conquer. Soon, the diffusion of viticulture in the South of Italy meant wine imports from Greece and the Aegean islands diminished consider- ably. In Turi, a commune in the Bari province, both viti- culture and the culture of wine have a millenary tradi- tion, derived from the extra- ordinary characteristics of the territory: a favorable cli- mate, the nature of the soil and the organic and inorgan- ic elements that enrich it. Characteristics that, in time, were matched by a centuries- long experience, developed in the fields by our ancestors, experts farmers and natural- ly inclined to cultivate the vine. I f w e w a n t t o b e t t e r understand how ancient and deeply rooted the cult of wine is in Turi and the area of Bari, it is important to mention an archeological discovery, dating back to the 6 th century BC. In 1932, on a building site in Via Fiume, not far from Turi's train sta- tion, a Peucetian funerary s a r c o p h a g u s w a s unearthed; old Turi was, i n d e e d , p a r t o f a n c i e n t Peucetia, a territory that, t o d a y , b e l o n g s t o t h e province of Bari almost in its e n t i r e t y . I t s p e o p l e , t h e Peucetians, were an ancient Iapygian people. Among the objects found along the sar- cophagus, was also an extra- o r d i n a r y b l a c k - f i g u r e krater, entirely painted and decorated with figures and scenes inspired by Greek mythology. It is a large arte- fact, that probably belonged to a local aristocratic family from the 5 th century BC and that, as we mentioned, was used to mix wine during ban- quets. Turi's krater depicts the wedding of Zeus and Hera, posing on a chariot preceded by Hermes and followed by Dionysus. Apollo, along with three women, completes the wedding procession. On the other side of the vase, we find a Dionysian scene, with the god at its center and, b e s i d e h i m , t w o d a n c i n g Sileni, mythological charac- ters of ancient Greece, often associated with satyrs. They were minor deities, believed to protect water springs and rivers. The important arche- ological artefact is, today, kept in Bari's Archeological Museum. Since the beginning of times, Turi has cultivated the vine. Land registries from the mid-18 th century show that large part of the town's territory was dedicated to viticulture. There were also many millstones, both in v i n e y a r d s a n d i n s o m e homes, cellars filled with barrels of all sizes and wine- presses: "1750 (…) si tassano tre torchi da premere le uve ad uso proprio per ducati 1,20" (fee of 1,20 ducats to be paid on three winepresses to press grapes for personal use). Historically speaking, the p r e s e n c e i n T u r i o f t h e remains of a torchio a leva di Catone, is also quite impor- tant. This ancient wine press, made with oak wood, was already in use in the 1 st cen- tury AD, a time when it was considered a great innova- tion, because it allowed to press a much larger quantity of grapes all at once. The ancient object bears witness to the long winemaking tra- dition of Turi. In this context, it is inter- esting to mention some his- torical and scientific data published in the 19 th century in journals, bulletins and essays dedicated to Italian w i n e m a k i n g . W o r k s o n ampelology and ampelogra- phy demonstrate that, since b e f o r e t h e u n i f i c a t i o n o f I t a l y , T u r i p r o d u c e d a n d commercialized an excellent Primitivo di Turi, a high quality red wine, made with local grapes. Primitivo was aged in large wooden barrels, then bottled and exported all over Italy and the world. In 1873, Primitivo di Turi was at the Universal Exposition in Vienna. An 1869 bottle cost 1 lira, while 100 liters of non bottled wine was worth 30 liras. "We produce excel- lent table wine and a special one, from Turi," the slogan recited. D o m e n i c o C o z z o - l o n g o , f a r s i g h t e d l a n d owner and wine expert, was the pioneer in Primitivo di T u r i c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n . After his death, the family b u s i n e s s w e n t t o h i s s o n Giovanni, who had a mind just as brilliant. He was an elegant, old-fashioned man, good hearted and kind. The people of Turi would call him Don Giovanni non piglia r e s t o , " M r G i o v a n n i Cozzolongo, who never takes t h e c h a n g e . " I n 1 9 1 4 , h e became mayor of Turi. In 1881, the Italian journal of viticulture and winemak- ing, then directed by the illustrious and very famous G.B. Cerletti and Antonio Carpenè, director of the Treviso Winemaking Society i n C o n e g l i a n o V e n e t o , described the Cozzolongo wines as such: ""Primitivo rosso di Turi: it has the beau- tiful color of aged wine, a dry tonic flavor, a most pleasant, harmonious scent, generous as a whole. We are used to be honest, impartial and inde- pendent in our opinions, because we support only one team, that of Italy, and we don't care about other, sec- ondary ones, known to have often tarnished the judge- ment of jurors in many expo- sitions, more or less recent. We would like to cordially s h a k e t h e h a n d o f M r Cozzolongo, inviting him to carry on like this, on a path he began so well. He will cer- tainly gain personal satisfac- tion for the good he'll do to h i s t o w n a n d , w i t h o u t a doubt, also some money." Always in 1881, another important professor of Italy's winemaking school wrote: " A f t e r h a v i n g p r e s e n t e d these tenets of winemaking, I would like to talk about a special wine, made in the Bari area by Mr Cozzolongo from Turi. The methods used b y t h e l a t e D o m e n i c o Cozzolongo were rational and inspired by science. He made excellent wines, that won several prizes both at national and international expositions. I believe – and without fear of exaggerating – that Mr Cozzolongo should be considered one of the best w i n e m a k e r s o f t h e B a r i province and of Italy." T h e m e t h o d u s e d b y Cozzolongo to make his red Primitivo was the following: "Once the grapes were accu- rately pressed and half the stalks removed, he let the wine ferment, always keep- ing the 'hat' (the grapes'skins and stalks) under the must. When the must recorded a zero on the meter, after three days of fermentation, the must was mixed with the wine obtained after the first pressing, an excellent idea to add body and some tannins to young wines, especially those produced in our South. During the year, Cozzolongo would decant the wine twice and, after two years spent in wood barrels, he would clari- fy it with jelly and then bottle it. A fully rational winemak- ing process. The Primitivo di Turi is a wine of many quali- ties, so much so it should be considered one of the best in Italy. Mr Cozzolongo could become a famous winemak- er" (N. Giammaria, of the Real Scuola Superiore in Portici). After centuries dedicated to the soil and to the art of winemaking, the Primitivo wine district of Gioia del Colle DOC was created in t h e B a r i p r o v i n c e : a b o u t 1000 hectares of vineyards, a c r o s s 1 6 c o m m u n e s o f Bari's metropolitan area. Among them, Turi, Gioia del C o l l e , P u t i g n a n o , S a m m i c h e l e , C a s t e l l a n a Grotte, and Acquaviva delle Fonti. A consortium that wants to value and protect Primitivo wine, under the presidency of winemaker Donato Giuliani. Among its founders and members, another entrepreneur from Turi, A n t o n i o M i c h e l e Coppi, longtime winemaker, whose winery dates back to 1882, when it was founded by the Zaccheo family. The Primitivo di Turi and of Gioia del Colle: an histori- cal vine, an excellence of Italian winemaking, a myth that'll live forever! LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Working to make Primitivo wine in the 1940s (Photo: Vinicola Coppi/Doni Coppi) Continued from page 32 THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano

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