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San Severo is a DOC of the Puglia wine region in south-eastern Italy. It was introduced in April 1968, the very first DOC in Puglia, followed shortly afterwards by Martina Franca and Locorotondo, both in June 1969. The DOC is named after the town which lies at its center, geographically, commercially and administratively speaking.
San Severo is surrounded almost entirely by vineyards and olive groves: the latter has gained more territory since the EU vine-pull schemes of the late 20th century led to many thousands of vineyard hectares being uprooted. The area is part of a large geo-cultural zone known as the 'Capitanata', which corresponds roughly to modern-day Foggia, the northernmost province of Puglia which abuts the southern end of the Molise region.
The wines made under the San Severo name may be red, rose or white (rosso, rosato or bianco), and the grapes they are made from betray the fact that this is a DOC of northern Puglia, rather than from the region's deep south. Montepulciano and Sangiovese are the ingredients for the red and rose wines (in the permitted proportions of 70–100% and 40–60% respectively), giving the wines a style more akin to the wines of Abruzzo and Tuscany than Puglia. Even a short distance to the south, in the Bari province, the levels of these 'northern' Italian varieties are limited to give freer rein to the purist's Puglian varieties Uva di Troia, Negroamaro and Primitivo.
White San Severo (San Severo Bianco) is made primarily from Trebbiano and Bombino Bianco grapes. These cannot be accused of being 'un-Puglian' as the reds can, as Puglia is a red-wine specialist with very little in the way of indigenous white-grape varieties. (Verdeca is a lonely exception to this rule.)
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