Tenuta Corallo was born from the love for wine and the sea of Enzo and Gabriella Marti who in 2010 took over a 13 hectare estate on the coast road between Alimini Lakes and Otranto. Here, where once there was only land, overlooking the wonderful Baia dei Turchi, there are the eco-sustainable and pet friendly Farmhouse and the approximately 9 hectare vineyard grown organically which borders the beach.
Wines and sleeps by the sea
Sleeping in a room of a refined apartment overlooking the vineyards and with the sea just a few steps away is truly priceless. If the sea is that of the Baia dei Turchi the postcard becomes perfect and the emotions will be unforgettable!
Each of the 19 apartments has an independent entrance and a large outdoor patio. Inside there are all the comforts to make your holiday comfortable and pleasant: from the dishwasher to the washing machine, from the safe to the television in every room and, of course, air conditioning and wi-fi.
Moving on to the wines, those of Tenuta Corallo have unique characteristics due to a special terroir near the sea in a context of powerful beauty. The vines are those typical of the Salento area, Primitivo, Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, Aleatico and Fiano. There are currently 12 labels, between reds, whites and rosés, including a Classic Method Sparkling Wine in Millesimato and Brut versions.
Together with Francesco, the sales manager, we visited the modern cellar where the winemaking processes take place, the refinement in steel or in American oak barrels made in Spain specifically for Tenuta Corallo and displayed in plain sight in the Barricaia.
The grapes come from the vineyards around the estate, whose vine leaves and fruit are caressed by the sea breeze which enriches them with the aromas and scents of the Mediterranean scrub that separates the vineyards from the beach. But not only. Because, as the winemaker of Tenuta Corallo, Doctor Giuseppe Pizzolante Leuzzi, whom we interviewed for our #Incontri, revealed to us, the wind coming from the sea, rich in salt, deposits crystals on the leaves which then cause burns on them in the sun. So what is being done to overcome this phenomenon? We proceed by subjecting the vineyard closest to the sea to fresh water showers!
Because wine needs to be told. There is a lot of it around but the difference is made by the story behind each bottle: a story of people, not numbers. A wine tasting, after a walk through the vineyards, is a sensorial experience that remains among the most pleasant travel memories. It combines the relaxation of contact with nature with the discovery of the culture of the area while also tickling the senses.
So let’s talk about Tenuta Corallo wines.
The Negroamaro grapes vinified in white at the base of Crusò, the Classic Method Brut and Millesimato sparkling wine, are harvested at the end of August. The refinement on the yeasts for 24 months gives this wine a delicate flavor and a fine perlage which make it ideal to accompany an aperitif but also throughout the meal with robust dishes such as important fish and roast meats.
We also tasted the two white wines offered by Tenuta Corallo: tasty, given the proximity of the vineyards to the sea, they are completely different although both very enjoyable. Chora is a Fiano DOC Terra d’Otranto, warm and soft from the look with its straw yellow color with golden reflections. It does not disappoint on the nose and in the mouth with intense aromas of flowers and hints of ripe white pulp fruit that mix on the tip of the tongue with the typical flavor.
Drosia, Negramaro vinified in white with grapes harvested by hand at the beginning of September, is striking for its pale yellow with greenish reflections. You could think of a wine without personality, however, it reveals notes of fresh flowers and strong mineral hints.
Among the rosés we tasted the Matrìa, a soft, fresh and savory Negroamaro, which Alessandro paired for us with chef Pascali’s exquisite Gallipoli couscous at the very refined Zèphyr Restaurant in La Fiermontina in Lecce.
The first red, the first wine produced in 2018 by the Tenuta Corallo Winery and also the first to win a gold medal – as Francesco underlined – is the Primitivo Orterosse, the only one that does not have the name in Griko, the Greek origin language which has been handed down in the small enclave of Grecìa Salentina of which Sternatia, the town of origin of the Marti, is part. In homage to the village of the couple of Salento entrepreneurs, all the wines have labels in this ancient language: Crusò means golden, Chora means origin, Drosia is dew, Matrìa indicates the town square, and then Asteri, the rosé from Primitivo which takes its name from the stars, the Primitivo Simera which means this day, Zoì equals life, a blend between Negroamaro and Primitivo, and Milia which means word and is the name given to Aleatico’s passito.
Returning to Orterosse, it recalls the lands around the Bauxite Quarry not far away where the bright green of a small lake stands out among the vermilion of the steep walls, looking like an emerald set in a Martian landscape.
Our tastings continued with the Negroamaro rosso Mesena, which means with you, aged in steel and barrique with a garnet red nuance, the aroma reminiscent of plums and cherries and the dry, warm and soft sip with important tannins that do not affect freshness and balance.
We concluded with Korafi from Primitivo DOC Terra d’Otranto grapes. The color is a beautiful ruby red with garnet reflections which anticipates the notes of ripe red fruit. The refinement in barriques for 16 months gives aromas of wood that do not cover but rather enhance those of the grapes and the territory. Korafi, which translated from griko is countryside, is a wine that perfectly expresses this land, dense and full-bodied with ripe tannins and great balance, leaving the mouth dry and clean.
Tenuta Corallo is an unmissable place for those who love wine but even teetotallers won’t be disappointed! Baia dei Turchi can be reached with a short walk through the Mediterranean scrub and each guest is equipped with a key to open the private gate that allows access to the beach. The private ones do not provide hospitality for our 4-legged friends but there are long stretches of free coastline where it is possible to stop with your dog and Otto had a lot of fun swimming facing the waves like an expert swimmer: and say that the Bernese Mountain Dog is a mountain dog!
Dogs, of all sizes, are welcome around the swimming pool and on the porch in front of the bar, open from 8am for breakfast until 8pm for an aperitif.
For guests of Tenuta Corallo there is a basket in each apartment: it is used to collect vegetables from the garden.
There are also bicycles with which to reach the nearby Alimini Lakes, go as far as the Bauxite Quarry or the historic center of Otranto. The routes are flat and it is not too difficult to pedal. And for those who don’t really want to prepare at home, there is no shortage of excellent restaurants in the surrounding area where you can eat typical dishes or fresh fish.
Tenuta Vigna Corallo
Coastal Otranto – Alimini Lakes, Otranto (LE)
Info: Tel: +39 0836 666876 – +39 380 8682366
www.tenutacorallo.it – info@tenutacorallo.it – cantina@tenutacorallo.it
