Puglia is the most productive Italian region for bread, olive oil and wine-competing with Sicily for its volume of grape production. In the past, many French and northern Italian wines were cut with southern Pugliese wines in order to fortify them. Its 20 DOC’s are comprised of three basic varietals: Primitivo, a varietal genetically linked to Zinfandel; Negroamaro, and Malvasia Nera. Puglia is currently undergoing a metamorphosis: once sprawling co-op estate organizations are scaling down production and using modern trellis systems instead of the large tendone, or canopy, framework. Many big players on the Italian wine scene have made heavy investments in Puglia, making expected production extremely interesting. Combine that with the fact that a fair amount of wines from this region carry a fair price, and the future looks very bright.