Wine landscapes read through the lens of the terroir: the case of the Gioia del Colle CDO, in Apulia region

The interpretation of wine landscapes is possible at different levels and visions: from the technical-agronomic ones linked to the alternation of crops and perennials in combination with the elements of the rural landscape (dry stone walls, oaks, sheep tracks), to the artistic ones based on alternating dominant colors in assonance with seasons. The former alternate with the latter, more linked to the aesthetic form, and to the presence of cultural characteristics that draw landscapes over several decades (from 20 years to more than 100 years). However, there is a deeper level of interpretation of the landscape designed by viticulture prevalent in the agricultural space: it is the analysis of the terroir, that is, the pure identity of an organized rural space. The notion of terroir, an agricultural term of origin, extended to geography as a “portion of agricultural space that has been the subject of specific development” (Lacoste, 2009), is rich in meaning and its use is spreading as an element and expression functional to communication to enhance the typical characteristics of local agri-food productions and to promote tourism and marketing. From this point of view, the terroir is no longer a subject for its own sake but becomes a communication tool of typicality and human work, as it expresses the enhancement of a typical production that took place in a specific rural context. The terroir is therefore itself a marketing and promotion tool for tourism, especially for those types of tourism more linked to the territory such as cycle tourism and/or enogastronomic one. This contribution, starting from these concepts, presents the case study of the Controlled Designation of Origin (CDO) of Gioia del Colle wines, in Apulia region, protagonist of an action to relaunch and protect the territory and, consequently, linked strongly to the aforementioned notion of terroir.