Cantine San Marzano is one of the great success stories of southern Italy, a growers' cooperative that turned the sun-baked vineyards of Puglia into some of the best-value reds you can buy. If you love ripe, warm and generous wine with real character, this is a name worth knowing.
A Puglian growers' cooperative since 1962
The cooperative was founded in 1962 in San Marzano di San Giuseppe, a small town in the heel of Italy, when 19 local vine growers pooled their land and their know-how. It has since grown to more than 1,000 members farming across the Primitivo di Manduria heartland. For much of the last century this corner of the country sold its wine in bulk, but San Marzano helped rewrite that story, bottling characterful wines under its own label and reviving old bush vines and near-forgotten local grapes along the way.
The style and the signature wines
The house style is plush and warm: dark cherry, ripe plum, dried fig and a lick of sweet spice, with soft tannins shaped by the Mediterranean heat. Primitivo is the star, alongside Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, and these are among the most crowd-pleasing red wines of the Italian south. The flagship is 60 Sessantanni, a barrel-aged Primitivo di Manduria from bush vines over sixty years old, deep and velvety. For everyday drinking the Il Pumo wines are honest and fruit-forward, while the Talò range sits in between with a little more polish. It is a fine place to start before exploring the rest of Italy.
San Marzano FAQ
Is this the same as San Marzano tomatoes?
No, though the mix-up is understandable. Cantine San Marzano is a wine cooperative named after the town of San Marzano di San Giuseppe in Puglia. The famous tomatoes come from a different area near Naples in Campania.
What does 60 Sessantanni mean?
Sessantanni is Italian for sixty years, a nod to the old bush vines behind the wine, most of them more than six decades old. Their low yields give the concentration and depth that made this Primitivo di Manduria the producer's calling card.
What food suits San Marzano reds?
Their ripe fruit and gentle tannin love grilled and roasted meats, lamb, and pasta with a rich tomato ragù. They also stand up well to aged cheeses and anything cooked with olives, garlic and herbs. To keep exploring, seek out more wines from Puglia.