This wine borrows its name from the Apulian town of Galatina, an adorably beautiful little town of Greek origin about 12 miles south of the Baroque city of Lecce in the heel of the Italian boot. Galatina has long been famed for its artists and craftsmen, who transformed the local stone, known as pietra leccese, leather and wood into elaborate works of art.

Galatina’s history of wine production is pretty much the same as that of the rest of Salento, as the heel of Italy is known. For centuries, wine was made here using a local grape variety called Negro Amaro.

In the past couple of decades, however, the wine industry here has been revamped, mostly thanks to the imported Chardonnay grapevines, which have adapted splendidly to the climate of this land and have led to great results.

This has encouraged a true wine renaissance that has affected also the production of traditional reds and rosés.

The efforts of local winemakers were crowned in 1997 with this new D.O.C. that has allowed the wines of Galatina to become known in the domestic and international markets.