Puglia, Southern Italy

PreviousNext Image 1 of 2

Puglia, Southern Italy

Polignano, near Trani

Puglia, Southern Italy

11 - 16 October 2008, 10 - 15 October 2009

Puglia, the heel of Italy is Southern Italy’s powerhouse wine region. The production is more than Germany and almost as much as Australia. This may seem surprising but it is not new, Puglia has been producing a lot of good wine for a long time. What is new is that it is now sold as Puglian and that the regional identity is appreciated and sought out. It is because of this and the general up-lift of the area in recent years, that we are now offering this tour concentrating purely on Puglia.

We start in the north of the region with a visit to Rivera, the leading winery in northern Puglia. These wines will probably be a surprise even to those who know Puglia well. The grape varieties, soil and climate are all different to the better known south. The wines are very focused with fine acidity. Whilst in this area we visit Castel del Monte. This extraordinary building was built by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and descendant of the Norman Kings of Sicily, one of the most cultivated rulers of the middle ages.

In southern Puglia, we visit the Perrucci family who are very interesting and forward thinking. They offer technical and marketing support to growers and sell these wines under the ‘Accademia dei Racemi’ label. Primitivo di Manduria from old vines is a speciality. This and many other interesting wines are offered in our wide ranging tasting. We lunch at their welcoming Osteria which is in an old olive mill. The meal will be specialities from the regional cuisine which is built on wonderfully flavour some vegetables, olive oil, wholemeal pasta and fish.

The two main red grape varieties Primitivo (aka Zinfandel) and Negroamaro (the ‘bitter black’) are both fabulous and have now gained a thoroughly deserved international reputation.

For Salice Salentino, the region’s best known wine, we visit two high quality estate producers. With Masseria Monaci, the superb wine will command our attention, but at Vallone the wines have to compete with the setting, a castle on the Adriatic coast draped with Bourganvillia and surrounded by ancient olives. After our visit to Monaci, we have time to explore fascinating Otranto, the most south-easterly town in Italy.

We have in depth tastings with the three companies that put Puglia on the wine map, the incredibly hospitable Candido,one of the driving brands of the region; Cosimo Taurino, one of the earliest to focus on quality, who now have a new winery to lift their act even higher and Leone de Castris, makers of smooth, seductive stunning wines.

We stay in two very good hotels on this trip; in the north in a 4* hotel in a converted abbey, overlooking the traditional fishing harbour of Trani; in the south in a central 4* in Lecce, possibly Italy’s purest baroque city.