DECANTER AWARDS CUPERTINUM’S NEGROAMARO

Negroamaro Cupertinum Decanter Vini Salento

The English passion for the wines of the winery from Copertino.

A Bronze Medal and two recommendations from the Decanter World Wine Awards for  Cupertinum wines! More precisely for Negroamaro, Primitivo and Spinello dei Falconi Rosato, all with the Salento Indicazione Geografica Tipica denomination.

Decanter, monthly English review on wine culture, with editorial staff in Britain, but distributed in 90 countries, organizes every year the Decanter World Wine Awards, the most important and attended international wine award, competition founded in 2004. The results of the competition will be published in the August edition of Decanter, but the communication, signed by the director Steven Spurrier, has just arrived at the Winery and the winemaker Giuseppe Pizzolante Leuzzi and the president Francesco Trono immediately wanted to share this satisfaction with the partners, with all people from Copertino and Salento: “thanks to this international award we will contribute to enhance not only our wines but also the territory and its tourist and cultural heritages”.

We remind that the Cupertinum wines, especially the red ones based on negroamaro and primitivo, have been appreciated by the English critics for over half a century. For example, Hugh Johnson, the great old man of wine criticism, the contemporary author who more than any other contributed to wine literature, and now a contributor at Decanter, already in the ’80s, with the Sunday Times Competition, awarded two wines of the Winery fron Copertino: Rosato and Copertino Doc. And recently, just on Decanter, Simon Woolf said: “Excess of wood from barriques is a widespread problem, but Cupertinum, one of the oldest and largest cooperatives in Salento, instead, gives a brilliant example with its Copertino Riserva, aged in vitrified tanks, really delicious”.
Even the English market is rewarding the labels of the Cupertinum, which “stand out for their elegance and an excellent relationship between quality and price”. A winery that “has the talent to express the most visceral and sublime Mediterranean spirit in the bottle. An unmissable address for lovers of Negroamaro “.

“I see confirmation and surprises in the new 2026 wine guides for our wines. With these awards, Cupertinum confirms its status as a company of excellence, reliable over time, dynamic in identifying new goals and achieving them,” says Francesco Trono, president of Cupertinum. Winemaker Giuseppe Pizzolante Leuzzi, now accustomed to the awards that come flooding in year after year, is also satisfied: “The focus on quality and modern winemaking that respects tradition is understood and rewarded. These awards reward the members, the winery’s workers, and the territory.”

 Here is a brief list of recent awards and prizes received by Cupertinum wines:

  • Cupertinum has been included among the best Italian wineries in Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book guide to wines from around the world. The renowned guide, edited by Margaret Rand, recommends: Copertino Riserva, Settantacinque, Spinello dei Falconi, and Negroamaro!
  • Danielle Callegari of Wine Enthusiast award: 92 points to Copertino Riserva DOC; 91 points to Primitivo Salento IGT: “two fantastic deals from this winery that confirm the high quality of the company’s labels.”
  • Wine Spectator awards Copertino Riserva DOC 2015: 89 points and Aldieri Primitivo Salento IGT 2021: 89 points (“well-elevated reds, medium-bodied, with light tannins,” says expert Eric Guido).
  • As far as international recognition is concerned, another great result is worth mentioning: the Gold Medal at the International Wine & Spirits Awards for COPERTINO RISERVA and POGGIANI Negroamaro.
  • Guida essenziale ai vini d’Italia (DoctorWine Daniele Cernilli )awards Copertino Riserva 92 points and Spibello dei Falconi 90 points.
  • The VITAE guide published by the Sommelier Association awards 4 VITI to Settantacinque Copertino and 3 VITI to Copertino Doc, Copertino Riserva, Poggiani Negroamaro, and Spinello dei Falconi. The sommeliers write: “wines of recognized and appreciated quality; the Negroamaro, in its various forms, represents the jewel in the crown.”
  • SlowWine: Cupertinum is featured in the SlowFood guide with the TopWine award for Spinello dei Falconi and a beautiful description that highlights the advantageous quality/price ratio, with accurate and complimentary organoleptic descriptions of all the wines.
  • The Touring Club’s Vinibuoni d’Italia guide awards our wines 4 stars to Copertino DOC Riserva, Copertino DOC and Spinello dei Falconi and 3 stars to Squarciafico Rosato and Settantacinque.
  • Bibenda, the guide published by the Italian Sommelier Foundation, awards Settantacinque, Copertino DOC Riserva, Aldieri Primitivo, and Poggiani Negroamaro with 4 Grappoli.
  • The Veronelli Guide awards 3 Red Stars to Settantacinque Copertino DOC and 2 Stars to all wines, with special mention to Spinello dei Falconi and all Copertino DOC wines.
  • The Il Golosario guide by Gatti/Massobrio names Primitivo as a Top Wine.

“Wine is the song of the earth to the sky” wrote the master of food and wine criticism Luigi Veronelli. It is worth repeating this for the awards given to Cupertinum wines!