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APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES

Baresana grape

PAT · Slow Food Presidium · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Puglia

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked:

In brief

History and origin

Baresana is an old table grape from the province of Bari. Its name was chosen by small growers at the end of the nineteenth century: to sell their produce better they brought a host of local names under one label, such as duraca in Adelfia, lattuario in Acquaviva delle Fonti and elsewhere sacra, roscio, imperatore or turca. «Baresana», meaning from Bari, was a true forerunner of origin labels.

The name is first recorded in 1892 and took hold in the early twentieth century, as table-grape growing expanded around Bari. In 1914 a lecturer at the Portici School of Agriculture described the province's vineyards trained as Apulian bush vines; in 1934 the province of Bari had over three thousand hectares of it, with Ruvo di Puglia, Bisceglie and Adelfia as the main centres.

With the arrival of modern varieties baresana has become rare: today it survives mainly in and around Adelfia, in a few rows, and it is a Slow Food Presidium.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Uva baresana · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Uva baresana · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026) · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Uva da tavola

Area and method of production

Unlike the more common table grapes, baresana needs neither heavy fertilising nor deep tillage. It is trained in different ways depending on the area: the old Apulian bush vine on the marginal land of the pre-Murgia, the vertical trellis in the northern Bari area and the overhead tendone in Adelfia.

The vine could produce heavily, but thinning the bunches has become standard practice to obtain quality fruit. In spring new shoots and flower clusters are tied and arranged and the leaves near the bunches removed to let air in; berry thinning, the removal of small berries called «corallini», is not needed, because local buyers know and like the grape as it is. In summer irrigation keeps the berries plump, and a few days before harvest the bunches are cleaned.

Picking is by hand and runs from September to mid-October, with production lasting into November.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Uva baresana · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Uva baresana

How to recognise it

The bunch, usually conical, is medium-sized, around 400 to 500 grams, and loose. The berries, slightly oval and 1 to 1.5 centimetres across, have a very thin skin with little bloom, pearly white-yellow and almost transparent. The flesh is exceptionally crisp, the flavour sweet and very fruity; the pips are small, one or two per berry.

The sign of ripeness is the transparency itself: when the berry, sometimes with a faint pink tinge, clearly shows the seeds inside, the grape is ready.

Such a thin skin has a downside: baresana keeps poorly and travels badly over long distances. That is why it remains a grape to be eaten fresh near where it grows.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Uva baresana · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Uva baresana

In the kitchen

Baresana is a grape for eating fresh, enjoyed just as it is in the autumn months when it reaches the stalls. Its crunch and fruity sweetness are why it has stayed tied to the markets of the province of Bari, where people know and appreciate it, small berries included.

Its poor suitability for transport has made it a grape for local and national consumption: it is found at fruit and vegetable markets and in traditional shops.

For the table, choose bunches with transparent berries that let the seeds show through: it is the sign that the grape has reached full ripeness and its best flavour.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Uva baresana · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Uva baresana

Where to taste it

The heart of baresana is Adelfia, inland south-east of Bari, where the last rows trained on tendone survive. The town holds the Grape and Fritter Festival, during which the varieties grown locally, baresana included, are promoted.

Not far away, Rutigliano celebrates its Grape Festival in October, a festival that has passed its fiftieth edition. The whole area around Rutigliano, Noicattaro, Mola di Bari, Conversano and Turi is table-grape country, and Bari and Polignano a Mare are easily reached from here.

The right time is September and October, when the transparent bunches reach the market stalls of the province.

Sources: Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Uva baresana · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia — Uva da tavola · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Uva baresana

Protection

When

Where

Puglia