Puglia Deluxe Food & Wine Tour

Your beautiful hotel in the Bari city center will be our meeting point for the tour. In the late afternoon, we will gather in the lobby for a welcome aperitif inside the beautiful Italian cafe.
We'll enjoy traditional dishes for dinner at a classic trattoria in "Bari Vecchia," one of the oldest of the city.

Sunday morning will begin with a guided tour of this capital of the Puglia region. We'll watch women in the streets making strascinati and orecchiette, two typical pastas of the area. You'll be amazed at how fast they make these foods!
After our city tour, we will have light lunch at a nearby trattoria with tasting of local delicacies. We will then drive toward the Murgia area, close to Alberobello, where we will be staying for the next four nights at an enchanting countryside resort.
Once we have checked into our rooms, we will drive to Alberobello. This small town is the main location of the "trulli" -unique small, white buildings with conic roofs that are unique just to this region in Italy and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site). We will have a guided visit of the Trulli followed by dinner at an inviting restaurant in Alberobello.

In the morning, a chef at our lodging will teach us how to make orecchiette and focaccia barese, typical of Puglia. We will then enjoy our self-prepared lunch.

Later in the afternoon, we will drive to an prestigious olive oil mill for a visit and an Evo tasting will follow. You will learn a lot about the olive oil!

We proceed to Locorotondo, which is a jewel hilltop town that is considered to have the best views of the Valley of Itria and Murgia.

Our day will end in Cisternino, another beautiful hill town with stunning views. We will indulge in the town's traditional dinner, which is held at the butcher shop with a wood-fired oven. The specialty of Cisternino is "bombette", meat rolls made with lamb, veal, or sausage that will be cooked "al Fornello" (on the spit) just for you. An experience you can only have in Cisternino!

The morning will begin with a visit to a nearby cheese producer where we will get to see the interesting process of making fresh mozzarella, burrata and other cheeses.
On our way to Matera we stop in Gioia del Colle area at a terrific family winery to taste the indigenous red wine Primitivo. We will have a great lunch at the winery.

We will arrive in Matera in the early afternoon. This city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located in the Basilicata region that borders Puglia. The Sassi district is the ancient heart of this city and still has existing prehistoric dwellings from thousands of years ago that are carved out of the face of the calcareous rock. We will take a tour of the Sassi with an English-speaking guide to learn more about these fascinating dwellings.
Dinner will be served in Matera at a charming restaurant. Here we will enjoy food with different flavors that belong to the Basilicata region. After dinner, we will return to our hotel.​

Wednesday morning will begin with a drive toward the elegant little town of Martina Franca with an English-speaking guide where we will learn about the town's baroque architecture.

We'll visit one of the producers of the town's famous "Capocollo di Martina Franca," salume that is lightly smoked with local herbs, and enjoy other specialties there.

We'll return to our hotel for a rest.

In the late afternoon drive toward the coast for a nice stroll through the pretty town of Monopoli. Soon after, we will drive toward the enchanting seaside town of Polignano, where Domenico Modugno -singer and author of the song "Volare"- was born, for a delicious seafood dinner at an amazing restaurant.

We will begin the day with a drive south to the Salento area, where Lecce is the most prominent city. We will make a stop in Ostuni, known as "the white town," this is a gleaming white hilltop city with sun-bleached streets and cobbled alleyways. Visit Ostuni in Ape car! We'll continue on toward Brindisi, where we will visit a winery for a tasting of Negroamaro red wine, followed by a light lunch.

We will arrive in Lecce after lunch. Our deluxe hotel in Lecce is located in the heart of the city and we will stay here for the remaining two nights of our tour.

In the late afternoon, after we have settled into the hotel, we will enjoy aperitif in the Lecce city center followed by a delicious seafood dinner.

This night you will get to sleep at a beautiful five-star hotel.

Friday morning we will meet our guide for a walking tour of Lecce. This lively university town is considered one of the most interesting cities in the region for its typical seventeenth century architecture. It is often called the Florence of the South for its monuments, mansions, and ornate buildings.
After the visit we have some free time when you can enjoy shopping and strolling in the lively city center. You'll have lunch on your own during this time.

In the afternoon, we will have one last cooking class where we will create local specialties that we will delight in for our farewell dinner.

Departure after breakfast at the hotel.