A. Mano Puglia Primitivo 2001

"How does an American end up in Apulia (and why does he stay?)", asks Mark Shannon as he begins to tell his story. Meeting this brilliant wine-maker from California, you are struck by professional and personality alike: Mark's drive, enthusiasm, creativity and expertise are hard to come by in a single individual! Needless to say, the impact of his sensational Apulian red reflects the impact of the man.

Called AMano ("hand-made"), and entirely hand-crafted from indigenous Primitivo grapes (the original source of Zinfandel, by the way...), this fruit-packed, food-friendly red expresses the region's quality potential, and the reasons for Mark's Apulian connection. These are best told by Mark himself: "Apulia (or Puglia, as it is known in Italian) is so easy to fall in love with: old, head-trained vineyards, a history of grape-growing in harmony with nature. Everything necessary for top-quality wines. I was compelled to stay. I have not seen another region of the world where the quality potential is so high.

After so many years of technical wine-making, I had almost forgotten that the right way to make wine is with love. In fact, Puglia reminded me this is the way to do everything."