What Is Susumaniello Wine?
Puglia has given the wine world some names you may already know. Primitivo and Negroamaro have traveled well beyond southern Italy, becoming closely associated with the warm, generous reds of the region. Susumaniello has taken a more unique path.
For generations, this dark-skinned grape grew around Brindisi, contributing color, freshness, and character to local wines without gaining much recognition outside the vineyards where it was grown. By the end of the twentieth century, it had become increasingly scarce. Today, old vines have been preserved, new vineyards have been planted, and Susumaniello is beginning to find a much wider audience.
The Puglian Grape Hiding In Plain Sight
Susumaniello is most closely associated with Brindisi and the surrounding vineyards of Salento, in the heel of Italy. It's a landscape uniquely identified by Mediterranean sun, coastal winds, vineyards, olive groves, and generations of agriculture. Wine has long been woven into life here, and Susumaniello grew up within that culture.
Like many old Italian grape varieties, its earliest history isn't perfectly documented. Names changed, cuttings traveled between vineyards, and grapes were cultivated long before anyone was concerned with recording a tidy genealogy. Susumaniello developed its own share of stories along the way, including one of the most memorable explanations for its name.
The name is often connected to somarello, the Italian word for “little donkey.” Young Susumaniello vines can produce particularly generous crops, with heavy bunches weighing down the plant. According to local tradition, growers saw a resemblance to the small donkeys once overloaded with goods and led through the Puglian countryside.
The exact origin of the name is difficult to prove, but that old story captures something very real about the grape. Young Susumaniello vines can carry an extraordinary amount of fruit.
The Grape That Almost Disappeared
That early productivity changes as Susumaniello gets older. Mature vines naturally produce less fruit, which made them increasingly difficult to justify for growers whose livelihoods depended on vineyard yields.
Susumaniello had also spent much of its history working quietly inside local wines. Around Brindisi, it was traditionally grown alongside grapes such as Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, where its deep color and bright acidity made it useful in local blends. As vineyards changed and older, less productive vines were removed, Susumaniello plantings declined considerably. By the 1990s, it had become a nearly nonexistent presence in the region.
The mature vines that remained eventually gave winemakers a reason to look again. Smaller crops could produce fruit with greater concentration and character, and producers around Brindisi began preserving old plant material and exploring what Susumaniello could do on its own. Varietal bottlings followed, giving the once-forgotten grape a chance to build an identity beyond the blends it had supported for generations.
Dark Fruit, Freshness, And A Little Wildness
Susumaniello’s deeply pigmented skins can produce wines with striking ruby and violet tones, and that depth often continues into the glass with blackberry, plum, herbs, spice, and savory notes.
One of the grape’s most appealing qualities is the freshness running through all that darker fruit. Naturally lively acidity gives the wine energy, while tannins bring shape and structure. Depending on the vineyard and winemaking style, Susumaniello can show a generous fruit-forward side or lean further into its earthy, herbal character.
There is warmth in the glass, as you might expect from southern Italy, but there is also enough freshness, personality, and depth to make Susumaniello feel very much its own.
Why Susumaniello Is Having A Moment
The revival that began in Puglia has gradually brought Susumaniello beyond its traditional home. More producers are bottling the grape under its own name, and it now has growing representation within the region’s official wine denominations. For example, in the Brindisi DOP, a wine labeled Susumaniello must contain at least 85 percent of the grape.
Its resurgence also comes at a time when wine drinkers, sommeliers, and writers are paying closer attention to lesser-known Italian varieties and the places behind them. Recent international wine coverage has introduced Susumaniello to an audience that may never have encountered the name before, giving this once-overlooked Puglian grape a much larger stage to impress.
The Grape Behind Fiamma
When we created Prima Pavé Fiamma, Susumaniello gave us the foundation we wanted for a still Italian red. Fiamma begins with Susumaniello grown in Puglia and made into wine through traditional fermentation before the alcohol is gently removed.
In the finished wine, dried plum, blackberry, and blueberry meet cocoa and cardamom, with plush tannins, medium body, and a dry finish. Those qualities give Fiamma its depth and structure while keeping a clear connection to the grape at its center.
Susumaniello also carries something we value beyond its tasting profile. It belongs to a particular place, with generations of Puglian wine culture behind it and a future that is still unfolding. Through Fiamma, we get to bring that story into a new wine experience while staying connected to the grape and region that made it possible.
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