The Primitivo di Gioia del Colle is an excellence of the Apulian territory and one of the most prized grapes in Italy. The name derives from the characteristic early ripening of the Primitivo grape, which is why it was called by the botanist Don Francesco Filippo Indellicati "primativus" that means "first to ripen".
Through studies and research, Francesco Filippo Indellicati (1767- 1831) selected and planted the first Primitivo vine in Gioia del Colle at the end of the 1700s, a variety that asserted itself and became increasingly important throughout the surrounding Murgia area of Bari, including the countryside of Santeramo il Colle, Altamura and Acquaviva delle Fonti. Today Gioia del Colle boasts the name of Città del Primitivo and for this reason in 2004 it wanted to remember the place where Indellicati built the first plant of this important variety with a dedicated commemorative stone.

DOC Gioia del Colle: Controlled Denomination of Origin
DOC Gioia del Colle Decree 11/05/1987, Italian Official Gazette n. 248 of 23/10/1987
Established in 1987, the Denomination of Origin Gioia del Colle includes a territory that extends around the City of Gioia del Colle, the entire municipal territory, including that of the neighboring municipalities present on the Murgia plateau at an average altitude of 400- 500 meters above sea level. The municipalities affected by the DOC Gioia del Colle are: Acquaviva delle Fonti, Adelfia, Casamassima, Cassano Murge, Castellana Grotte, Conversano, Gioia del Colle, Grumo Appula, Noci, Putignano, Rutigliano, Sammichele di Bari, Sannicandro di Bari, Santeramo in Colle , Turi, and in part Altamura.
The Murgia, a characteristic territory of the Gioia del Colle Denominationo f Origin, is a limestone plateau with rocky outcrops, the soils are distinguished by the typical red color due to the residues of the dissolution of limestone rocks, containing oxides and hydroxides of iron and aluminum. They are soils particularly suited to the cultivation of vineyards that have low yields per hectare, great minerality and good acidity. They are ideal soils for the production of quality wine.
The Gioia del Colle DOC covers nine types of wine: White, Red, Red Riserva, Rosato, Primitivo, Primitivo Riserva, Aleatico Dolce Naturale, Aleatico Dolce Riserva and Aleatico Liquoroso Dolce, among which the most important and well-known is Primitivo.