Storia
The family background
The family wine business traces its activity to the second half of the 19th century, when Commendatore Vincenzo De Marco began producing bulk wine at San Pietro Vernotico and successfully selling it in France and Tuscany.
1934: Tenuta Iore enters the combined family estate
Tenuta Iore became part of the combined Vallone agricultural enterprise through the marriage of Professor Donato Vallone and Maria De Marco. Maria received land from Commendatore De Marco as her dowry, and the marriage deed signed in 1934 formalised the union of Tenuta Iore at San Pancrazio Salentino with Tenuta Flaminio at Brindisi.
1980: experimentation with Caragnuli Negroamaro
In 1980, an experiment began with Negroamaro from Caragnuli, Tenuta Iore’s historic alberello-trained vineyard. Oenologist Severino Garofano advocated the project because he believed Negroamaro possessed greater versatility and stature than its conventional treatment suggested. The grapes were allowed to wither on racks before vinification, reviving an older method within a new production project. The first drying trials were conducted on the terraces of the fortified masseria at Castel Serranova, using the fruit grown at Caragnuli.
1986: the first Graticciaia vintage
After six years of trials, the first vintage of Graticciaia was produced from the 1986 harvest. The project established a direct connection between the old Caragnuli vines and a controlled late-autumn fermentation of lightly dried Negroamaro.
Tenuta Iore today
Tenuta Iore covers 35 hectares at San Pancrazio Salentino and is entirely devoted to Negroamaro. Caragnuli supplies the grapes for Graticciaia, while Vereto Salice Salentino DOC Riserva is identified as the estate’s representative wine.
Terroir
Tenuta Iore occupies 35 hectares at San Pancrazio Salentino in the province of Brindisi, within Salento. The surface soil is predominantly sandy, while the underlying stratum is composed of clay and limestone. This profile is associated with the estate’s exclusive focus on Negroamaro.
The individually described vineyards have north–south orientations. Both Caragnuli and Vereto are also characterised as having limestone-clay soils.
Vinificazione
Tenuta Iore’s 35 hectares are entirely dedicated to Negroamaro. The estate maintains both alberello and bilateral spurred-cordon training systems.
Caragnuli preserves old alberello vines, including vines stated to be 70 and 80 years old. Its bunches undergo careful selection before the drying process used for Graticciaia.
In the Vereto vineyard, average production is 1.5 kg per plant. Harvest takes place during the second ten-day period of September and combines manual and mechanical picking.
Graticciaia method
Carefully selected Negroamaro bunches from the old alberello-trained Caragnuli vineyard are allowed to reach maturity and then undergo light natural withering on racks. The wine takes its name from the graticciaia, the fruit-drying room in which light mats made from woven reeds and wicker hold the grapes.
Vinification begins after the drying process is complete. The physiological changes in the berries and the fermentation of the must occur in late autumn, when ambient temperatures are lower, producing a different evolution from conventional vinification. Must temperature is strictly controlled throughout the slow fermentation.
The first stage of maturation takes place in small French-oak barrels for approximately one year. The vessels are identified as pièces made from oak originating in Allier and “Never.” Maturation then continues in concrete until bottling.
Vereto method
Vereto undergoes temperature-controlled fermentation for 7–10 days, followed by a short post-fermentation maceration. Spontaneous malolactic fermentation occurs after alcoholic fermentation.
Maturation begins in stainless-steel tanks, followed by six to eight months in 50-hectolitre Slavonian-oak barrels and approximately 12 months in concrete vats. The wine then receives a further six to eight months of bottle maturation.
Filosofia
Tenuta Iore’s identity rests on a focused interpretation of Negroamaro: the entire estate is devoted to the variety, while individual vineyards support distinct expressions such as Caragnuli and Vereto.
Within the broader Vallone approach, the objective is to emphasise each grape variety’s defining characteristics precisely, without excess or forced expression. The family describes its work as an artisanal Italian tradition rooted in Lecce, Salento and Puglia, while seeking to preserve its identity without allowing its stylistic or oenological approach to become outdated.
The development of Graticciaia embodies this balance between continuity and experimentation. An old drying practice was reconsidered through six years of trials, controlled fermentation and a structured maturation programme, while retaining fruit from Caragnuli’s old alberello vines as its foundation.