Puglia is a long, thin wine region in the far south-eastern corner of the 'boot' of Italy. To continue the footwear analogy often used to illustrate Italy's shape, Puglia runs from the very point of the heel to just below mid-calf height, where the 'spur' of the Gargano Peninsula juts out into the Adriatic Sea. The one factor which unites northern and southern Puglia is the choice of crops grown: olives and grapes, in that order.

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Viticulture is deeply rooted in local traditions but until 20 or so years a large proportion of Puglia's grapes were used to add "substance" to wines produced in the rest of Italy and France. Thankfully this is no longer the case and Puglia now boasts 25 different DOC areas and some excellent vintages of its own.

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White wines in Puglia count for less than 20% of the overall production but are gradually growing in importance.