In 1998, a group of winegrowers founded the "Consorzio di Tutela del Primitivo di Manduria". Its mission is to protect and promote PRIMITIVO DI MANDURIA DOC and DOCG wine. The nobility of the Primitivo di Manduria is the result of an exceptional combination of factors: the unique micro-climatic environment of the area production, the grape variety and the wine-making techniques of the winegrowers. In the last decades, thanks to low yelds and a careful wine-making, Primitivo di Manduria wine has reached a new quality standard in terms of intensity, structure, elegance and finess. With the institution of the Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) in 1974, the Primitivo di Manduria wine has consolidated its prestige among the Italian wines. The area production is extended over 18 municipalities in the province of Taranto and Brindisi and it includes three typologies: Primitivo di Manduria PDO, Primitivo di Manduria PDO Riserva and Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale PGDO. In 2011 the Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale has been the first red wine in Puglia which obtained the prestigious classification of Protected and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin (PGDO).