A. Mano

"How does an American end up in Apulia (and why does he stay?)", asks Mark Shannon as he begins to tell his story. Meeting this brilliant wine-maker from California, you are struck by professional and personality alike: Mark's drive, enthusiasm, creativity and expertise are hard to come by in a single individual! Needless to say, the impact of his sensational Apulian red reflects the impact of the man.

Called AMano ("hand-made"), and entirely hand-crafted from indigenous Primitivo grapes (the original source of Zinfandel, by the way...), this fruit-packed, food-friendly red expresses the region's quality potential, and the reasons for Mark's Apulian connection. These are best told by Mark himself: "Apulia (or Puglia, as it is known in Italian) is so easy to fall in love with: old, head-trained vineyards, a history of grape-growing in harmony with nature. Everything necessary for top-quality wines. I was compelled to stay. I have not seen another region of the world where the quality potential is so high.

After so many years of technical wine-making, I had almost forgotten that the right way to make wine is with love. In fact, Puglia reminded me this is the way to do everything."