Tanking wine in Puglia
Tanking wine in Puglia: In south Italy local wines are sold like petrol from a pump, and in Manduria a small museum presents the history of local winemaking
Whenever we need to buy wine for everyday purposes, we go to the local Consorzio, where they have it on tap. A transaction so ordinary in this part of Puglia, it’s hardly worth noticing. Yet a comment on Italian Notes’ Facebook site made me look at it with new eyes. Come to think of it, I have never felt the need to buy 5 litres of wine or more in other parts of Italy, which means there has been no reason to look for ‘vino alla spina’. So seeing wine tanked as petrol might be a bit of a local attraction. Especially because my preferred consorzio also hosts an interesting little museum.
Numerous associations of wine producers can be found in the area, but Consorzio Produttori Vini Manduria seems most popular to judge from the eternal queues. There are always ten or more people waiting to be served, so you have to grab a number and wait your turn. Some customers bring their own reusable bottles, jars or containers, but most buy one of the square plastic containers stacked on a pallet along the wall. When your number comes up, you hand the container to one of the girls manning the wine pumps, and they fill it up with the wine of your choice and seal the lid. Afterwards you line up by the cash register, where the price – usually 1-2 euros per litre – is calculated and paid.
During the wait, you may have time to take a walk around the big hall, where glassed windows in the floor reveal a cellar packed with huge oak wine barrels and where the Museo della civiltà del vino Primitivo displays old wooden horse carts, harnesses, hoes, yokes and other farm utensils along with ancient and more modern wine presses and more ingenious wine making equipment. Personal favourites at the museum are the old moving pictures showing how tiny, tough farmers and farm labourers harvested grapes and olives in the mid 20th century. It is really fascinating to watch, and one of the films is available online.
But before you go and tank up on wines for the next party or family occasion, you should know that tapped wines are naturally young, raw and mixed, and therefore they should be enjoyed immediately. They don’t get better with age in transparent plastic bottles stowed away in the trunk of an overheated car, so don’t buy gallons of the stuff to take home as a holiday souvenir. For that purpose, bottled or bag-in-box wines are much better suited.
More on wine
Wine tanked as petrol… must be quite the sight!
I know the Italians like their wine, but this is priceless, although probably very practical if you are having a big party.
That is the best idea I have ever seen! Perfect. Who wants to keep wine ageing in the house anyway? Buy it and drink it. That’s what we do! :)
Julia
Nice note; up in Abruzzo, it is common at many of the Cantinas to have “tank wine” which is sold as vino tavolo. It ususally goes for 1 Euro a liter or less, and you pay a deposit for the jug on the first visit. Table-style Montepulciano at its best.
Great blog and nice post!
This is very common in Apulia, handy and also environmentally friendly because you can reuse the jar when you’re having the next party :)