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October, we are still in the middle of the harvest. In the vineyards the work is frenetic and from this work will depend a lot on the quality of the wine that will end up in our glasses. But from the grapes that are being harvested in this period, another sweet and aromatic elixir is also obtained, which the Romans had already learned to produce and use in cooking: vincotto

The preparation of the vincotto has remained faithful to the recipe of the peasant tradition, when the must obtained from the pressing of the grapes was cooked over the fire for twelve or fifteen hours, until it was reduced to a thick and very sweet syrup. Vincotto was a precious commodity, often the only condiment for the preparation of typical Christmas sweets, such as cartellate and mostaccioli. Even folk medicine made use of this prodigious elixir: drunk hot, diluted with water, it was considered a cure-all for seasonal ills. A real comfort food, in short.

In Lizzanello, in the province of Lecce, the historic Calogiuri company, founded in 1825, thanks to the commitment and passion of Gianni Calogiuri, rediscovered the ancient recipe handed down from generation to generation about twenty years ago and today produces a real and own excellence of the territory still using a supply of vincotto aged for a long time. The recipe, secret and jealously guarded by this ancient and industrious family, involves the use of Negroamaro and Black Malvasia, a long and slow boiling of the must and aging in old oak barrels.

A more than deserved success for this great product with a spicy taste of grapes and ripe fruit, a warm garnet red color and that scent of ancient and good things that fortunately we have not forgotten. A success that the Puglia Region wanted to honor by including the vincotto in the Atlas of Typical Agri-food Products of Puglia.

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