Production, quality and sustainability

The challenge for Mottura Winery’s third millennium will be to continue with gradual technological innovation while maintaining the wine-making traditions of Salento and Puglia.

Commitment and planning ability

For the Winery, total control of the production chain is the guarantee of wine safety: from the vineyard to the table, right through the phases of vinification, ageing and bottling.

Mottura’s plans aim to:

bring out the potential of native grapes,
optimise the relationship between terroir and vineyard,
improve the genetics using clonal research
invest into the qualitative growth of the production processes
keep the right price/quality ratio
pay due attention to environmental impact
recognise and meet market demands.

Current food quality and safety procedures have been certified through international standards and IFS (International Food Standard – Higher Level).

Production

Mottura’s vineyards are mainly bush and vertical trellis trained, the former having an average age of 60 per plant and the latter 10-15 years old.
The bush-trained plants are grown in “white soils” where there is a higher concentration of tuff, which favours the production of full-bodied, concentrated and very fragranced wines.
The average production per hectare is 8,000/10,000 kilos for the vertical trellis-trained vineyards and 3,000/4,000 kilos per hectare for the bush-trained vineyards.
The vineyards are managed according to production technical guidelines whose goals are to guarantee integrated management, excellent quality standards and the traceability of the entire production chain.

Experience

The Mottura winery in Tuglie has a storage capacity of 800,000 litres and has all of the most advanced technologies for stabilising the wines.
There is a barrique cellar where the company’s finest wines are aged in oak wood. All areas are temperature-controlled to guarantee the best product preservation.

Distribution

The modern bottling line is managed using procedures that aim to protect the quality of the wine and keep its properties intact, from the vineyard to the cellar.
Right from the outset this phase was studied and developed to distribute a wine of excellence throughout Italy and in many countries abroad, where Mottura wines are prized.

Innovation

The vinification centre has the most advanced equipment and technologies for the fermentation and maceration processes.
In addition to analyses and controls, the development of the vinification process is also evaluated by constant and systematic wine tastings.
There are two laboratories for analyses, carrying out over 80 tests in the various production phases, from the field to the bottle.

“Le Pitre” vineyards

Vine species grown
Primitivo, Fiano, Aleatico and Negroamaro grapes.

Training system
Le Pitre old vines: bush-trained plants of about 50 years of age. Low number of buds per plant, densely planted. Yields between 6,000 and 9,000 kg/ha
Le Pitre young vines: upwards-trained vertical-trellised plants of about 25 years of age, guyot pruned. Approximately 5,000 plants/hectare, with yields between 8,000 and 10,000 kg/ha.

Position
24 hectares in one single plot between Sandonaci – Campi Salentina – Contrada Antoglietta (S.p. 102).

The climate
Marked by mild winters and hot summers with high heat summation, the climate is quite ventilated even in summer. Situated just a few kilometres from the sea, it enjoys constant breezes and good differences in temperature between day and night. The mainly northerly winds mean the vegetation and grapes are constantly dry. Average precipitations are about 650 mm per year.

The soil
Altitudes between 50 to 70m a.s.l.; alluvial and medium texture soils with a variable composition: some rich in iron oxide interspersed with alkaline tuff substrate, clay and with calcareous gravel. High in phosphorus and potassium. Other soils are medium texture, tendentially clayey with high quantities of calcium carbonate.

Harvest
Primitivo is usually harvested in the third ten days of August and Negroamaro between the second and the third ten days of September, depending on the year’s weather. Manual picking in small containers for the bush-trained vines; manual or machine harvesting for the espalier-trained vines.

Appellations
Salice Salentino DOC, Salento IGT Negroamaro, Salento IGT Primitivo, Salento IGT Fiano, Puglia DOC Aleatico.

Mottura Winery can boast numerous awards over the years, not only in Italy, but also in Germany, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries.
The honours awarded to our wines by leading events and publishers in the sector, such as Mundus Vini, Decanter World Wine Awards, Berliner Wine Trophy, International Wine & Spirit Competition, Concours Mondial De Bruxelles and Wine Spectator, to mention just the most recent, stand as a testament to our commitment towards our consumers, to whom we have been guaranteeing quality, taste and constant research for almost 100 years.

Sustainability and protection

Over recent years Mottura Winery’s commitment to environmental sustainability has become even stronger.
We strive every day to enhance the characteristics of the different vine growing zones in the area and to maintain their biological fertility, the basis for a product of excellence:

rationed use of water resources, carrying out only emergency irrigation;
use of agronomic practices such as suckering, defoliation etc. in order to prevent the formation of damp microclimates in the plant and thus prevent the outbreak of fungal diseases and reduce the use of fungicides;
machine rather than chemical weeding of the vine row;
machine maintenance between alternating rows until May to promote the growth of typical local plant species and thus retain the biodiversity of the vineyard;
composting in early June to naturally increase organic substances;
rationed use of fertilisers, in favour of organic substances.

Complete management of the production chain

Mottura has its roots in the area where it was founded and has grown: Salento. In addition to preserving and passing down the traditional quality and excellence of local wine by using native wine species, it adopts all precautions and checks to reduce environmental impact to a minimum: constant analysis of the soil, attention to water resources, and the use of the best agricultural technologies.
The quality of our Italian wines, prized all over the world, is the fruit of expertise, professionalism and care. That is why we invest into the highest level of safety and protection of our staff throughout all the phases, from cultivation to production and distribution.
Mottura has always guaranteed the entire production chain, both in terms of its workers as well as the quality and safety of the end product.

Safety and sustainability have always formed the basis of our philosophy. In fact, we have been following and promoting the Integrated Production Protocol for many years now.
The Mottura Vini del Salento winery has obtained the National Integrated Production Quality System (SQNPI) certification confirming that all activities in our vineyards are in compliance with the Protocol of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
The protocol involves the exclusion of any product that may pose risks to the health of farmers, producers and consumers, strictly limiting the use of synthetic pesticides to guarantee the maximum safety margin.