Primitivo di Manduria Tightens Rules on Its Name

The Primitivo di Manduria consortium has approved new rules aimed at tightening control over the use of its protected name on transformed products, as producers and regulators in southern Italy step up efforts to curb misuse of one of the region’s best-known wines.

The move, announced by the consortium led by Novella Pastorelli, comes after 120 inspections in 2025 carried out by two monitoring agents who checked Primitivo di Manduria wines on store shelves, online and in international markets. The inspections were part of a broader effort to detect false labeling, misleading references and products that may be presented as Primitivo without meeting the standards required for the denomination.

Under the new regulation, companies seeking to use the names Primitivo di Manduria Doc or Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale Docg on processed or transformed products must first obtain authorization from the consortium. The rule is meant to prevent the wine’s name from being used in a way that could confuse consumers or weaken the reputation of the denomination.

The regulation sets specific conditions for approval. A transformed product must contain a significant amount of Primitivo di Manduria Doc or Docg wine, enough to give it characteristics not found in comparable products. The percentage of the protected ingredient must also appear on the label. The consortium said this requirement is intended to make clear that Primitivo di Manduria is an ingredient, not the finished product itself.

The new framework also requires authorized companies to prove that they are actually using the wine, to maintain traceability and to report production volumes. The consortium said these measures are designed to strengthen oversight across the supply chain and reduce room for abuse in both domestic and foreign markets.

Pastorelli said the regulation marks another step in protecting and developing the denomination. She said it could also have commercial benefits by allowing quality food products to draw on the reputation of the Primitivo di Manduria name while giving the wine greater visibility through those products’ distribution channels.

The issue has become increasingly important for Italian wine consortia as counterfeit bottles, misleading labels and unauthorized references continue to circulate in retail and online sales. For producers in Manduria, in Puglia, protecting the name is not only a matter of legal defense but also of preserving consumer trust in a wine that carries strong regional identity and export value.