Martina Franca boasts one of the most recognisable wine-growing landscapes in the Itria Valley, set amongst the limestone hills of the Murgia dei Trulli. The area, characterised by karst basins, gentle slopes and vineyards enclosed by dry stone walls, features clayey and limestone soils with abundant rock fragments and red soils formed by the dissolution of rock. The altitude and inland location foster a hot, dry climate, tempered by breezes from the two seas, with significant daily temperature variations and a gradual ripening of the grapes.
The local winemaking tradition places particular emphasis on indigenous white grape varieties, notably Verdeca and Bianco d’Alessano, alongside Fiano, Bombino and Malvasia Bianca. This ampelographic heritage yields fresh, savoury and delicately aromatic white wines, as well as sparkling and semi-sparkling wines that express liveliness and finesse. The Martina or Martina Franca appellation forms part of the wider production of the Itria Valley, which also includes white, rosé and red wines made from various grape varieties.
The terroir is inextricably linked to the area’s rural history: ancient farmsteads, small plots of land, trulli, water cisterns and agricultural practices handed down through the generations combine to form an environment in which viticulture interacts with the landscape and rural culture.
