{"id":856,"date":"2015-05-09T11:11:28","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T15:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wherearemomanddad.com\/?page_id=856"},"modified":"2021-06-21T11:29:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T15:29:07","slug":"2015-wine-and-food-of-puglia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/wherearemomanddad.com\/?page_id=856","title":{"rendered":"2015 Wine and Food of Puglia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our favorite Italian food and wine tour company, Bluone recently opened a tour of the wine and food of Puglia so of course, Mom and Dad had to try it.\u00a0 The tour itself is 7 days, but we decided to add two days up front to visit cousins in Milano.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>Our favorite meal in Milano was at what in the states we would call a pizzeria, but was more like an unassuming five star trattoria which happened to also make pizza.\u00a0 The name is Pupirichello Trattoria and Pizzeria, named after the owner and\u00a0chef\u00a0from Sorrento.\u00a0 As soon as we walked in, we could tell that this was no ordinary pizza joint and that their specialty was fish.\u00a0 What pizza parlor has a huge fish on ice display?\u00a0 We started with mini zeppoli with seaweed and a couple of slices of aromatic pizza.\u00a0 We then graduated to what I can only describe as a huge pot pie of crustaceans and large ziti in a delicious tomato sauce.\u00a0 That was followed by a fish filet that tasted like tuna in an artichoke sauce.\u00a0 We also tasted their hamburger special of the day; fried egg and white truffle over a chopped Tuscan beef patty, surrounded by homemade potato chips (No wonder McDonalds his having trouble!).\u00a0 We had no room left for desert, but we all tasted the chef\u2019s homemade wild fennel liquor.\u00a0 Made the same way as limonciello, but with wild fennel instead of lemon.\u00a0 DELICIOUS!!!!!<\/p>\n

Milano is another of the great cities of Italy.\u00a0 While most popular for its fashion industry, Milano is also the home of many important renaissance personalities, like Leonardo Da \"St<\/a>Vinci.\u00a0 While in Milano we visited the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Graces which houses Da Vinci\u2019s Last Supper fresco.\u00a0 Unfortunately, pictures of the fresco are not allowed.\u00a0 However, this is the painting that everyone has seen reproduced somewhere in various forms.\u00a0 It took Lenny 4 years to complete this fresco.\u00a0 Fresco is actually a misnomer for this work.\u00a0 Frescos are created by painting on plaster while the plaster is still wet, forcing the artist to work quickly and therefore cannot play with lighting and shades.\u00a0 True fresco painting last decades.\u00a0 Leonardo decided to experiment with dry fresco painting so he could “play” with the faces and the lighting.\u00a0\u00a0While the original painting was truly a work of genius, the fresco starting falling apart within 10 years of completion and has since been retouched many, many times.<\/p>\n

We also toured the famous Duomo di Milano which\u00a0is the 4th largest cathedral in Europe.\u00a0 The cathedral is indeed immense.\u00a0 It is amazing that this tremendous work of \"Duomo<\/a>architecture and art was constructed in an era well\u00a0before mechanized cranes and electricity.\u00a0 Probably why the full construction took decades and thousands of artisans to complete.\u00a0 The interior is as large as any indoor sports arena, but probably twice as tall!\u00a0 The columns are as big as redwood trees and the aisles go on to infinity.\u00a0 Like much of the historic sites in Italy, il Duomo is undergoing significant reconstruction and renovation.\u00a0 Much of which is funded by the major fashion houses of Milano!\u00a0 Who says the pretty people are shallow!<\/p>\n

On Day 3 we actually started our tour of Puglia.\u00a0 From Milano we flew to Bari, where we met the host of our tour, our good friend Marcello, and the other two members of the \"bari<\/a>tour, Janet and David.\u00a0 Bari is a seaside town known for many things, especially its seafood and seafood market.\u00a0 We happened to arrive during the festival of the city’s patron saint, St. Nicholas so we had the opportunity to experience the city at its festival best, complete with carnival and fireworks.\u00a0 Most impressive was the Cathedral of St. Nicholas of Bari.\u00a0 Not only for its splendor and history, but because the church holds services for the Orthodox Catholics on its lower floor and Roman Catholics on its upper floor.\u00a0 Often simultaneously!\u00a0 I think this is the only place that this occurs!\u00a0 We of course sampled the a couple of typical Barese dishes; oreccietti with broccoli rapi heads and a casserole of mussels, rice, and potatoes. I’m becoming a big fan of Primitivo and Negroamaro wine.<\/p>\n

From Bari, we headed to an interesting town call Trulli.\u00a0 Trulli is named after the homes that are shaped like a cone or “Trullo”.\u00a0 It seems that centuries ago, the workers for the \"Trulli\"<\/a>magistrates built these stone homes without the use of mortar for two reasons.\u00a0 First of all, the area is arid so there was not much water to use for mortar and secondly, the home owners built the homes so that they could be torn down quickly if the “taxman” was coming and then easily rebuilt (What people won’t do to avoid paying taxes)! Trulli has become such a tourist destination that the citizens have moved across the main road to the town called Alberobello.\u00a0 They still own shops and homes for display in Trulli, but the area becomes so congested, that they cannot live there.<\/p>\n

Our next town on the tour was the Baroque styled town of Martina Franca.\u00a0 This little hamlet was founded in the 1600’s by fishermen who gave up the sea to become \"Dress<\/a>farmers.\u00a0 It was a very commercially successful city and therefore attracted much aristocracy.\u00a0 While in Martina Franca we visited an olive oil company specializing in 100% extra virgin olive oil.\u00a0 We learned that if you are buying extra virgin olive oil for less than about $40 per gallon, you’re not getting real extra virgin olive oil!\u00a0 We then took some back roads to the ranch where the owner specializes in raising cattle, pigs, and Dad’s favorite, wild boar for making sausage, salami, and cheeses.\u00a0 We really enjoyed a simple lunch of cheese, cappicolo, salami, and pepperoni with a little (ok, maybe a lot) of Mr. Smith’s favorite, vino della casa.<\/p>\n

We had dinner at the Rosticceria L’Borgo in a little town called Locorotondo (Round place, not crazy round person) which overlooks the valley between Locorotondo and \"Meats\"<\/a>Martina Franca.\u00a0 This restaurant is a cross between a meat market and a restaurant.\u00a0 To order, you select your meats from the display case and then tell them to what level doneness you want your meat.\u00a0 The selection is everything from sausages of different varieties, rollitini, veal, pork, lamb, and even donkey steaks (which were delicious)!\u00a0 The meats came with salad and roasted potatoes and of course, vino della casa.\u00a0 The town itself is gorgeous, with winding narrow streets along apartment buildings that date back to the 1600’s.\u00a0 The streets often lead to a dead end or cloister where several apartments meet in what used to be called Jewish ghettos.\u00a0 In many places, the buildings are connected by arches that not only act\u00a0as pathways, but\u00a0also serve to hold the two buildings up.<\/p>\n

Day 4 started with a wine tour and tasting at the Pulvanera winery.\u00a0 This is a family owned operation making 15 different wines, from sparkling rose to 17% alcohol primitive \"Matera<\/a>(absolutely delicious and definitely “sneaks up on you!”).\u00a0 The family ferments and ages its wine in stainless steel.\u00a0 No wood aging for them.\u00a0 You might think that their reds would be fruity, but no, far from it.\u00a0 From the winery we headed to Matera which is a city whose first inhabitants lived in caves dug out of limestone with doors.\u00a0 After World War II, the government started building conventional housing above the cave city and the citizens started moving into the newer homes.\u00a0\u00a0The last cave dwellers lived in their caves until 1958.\u00a0 Dinner was at CavaOso where we started with appetizers of meats, cheeses, and frittata, followed by thick, narrow, fettuccini-like pasta in artichoke and tomato sauce.\u00a0 We accompanied our meal with a couple of bottles of Primitivo.<\/p>\n

Day 5 started with a visit to a local cheese maker, Nuovo Muretto, where we watched \"cover\"<\/a>the proprietor make mozzarella and other cheeses of the area.\u00a0 From there we headed back to our hotel (Abate Masseria Resort) for a cooking lesson at Il Briale Restaurant.\u00a0 There we helped prepare our midday meal.\u00a0 The first course was a focaccia made with potato, flour, and semolina, followed by baked stuffed eggplant (eggplant, parmigiano, basil, bread), and then orrechetti in tomato sauce.\u00a0 We enjoyed a delicious nero di troia with our meal.\u00a0 Dessert was a meringue-like cookie with chopped almonds and espresso.\u00a0 After a brief rest, we headed to a tour of a pretty seaside town called Monopoli.\u00a0 Yep, sounds like the board game, but much prettier.\u00a0 The town actually made a life-size version of the game in the town square one year.\u00a0 Those crazy Monopolians!\u00a0 Dinner was at a gorgeous seafood restaurant in Monopoli.\u00a0 We had appetizers of pickled eggplant, tuna carpaccio, meats, fried anchovies, and octopus salad accompanied by a crisp Rose.\u00a0 Mom had a pasta with shrimp and zucchini flowers, I had grilled fresh fish.\u00a0 Oh yea, and a couple of bottles of local white wine.<\/p>\n

Day 6 was mostly a travel day.\u00a0 Our trusty driver, Don Frederico, drove us to the pretty, hillside town of Ostuni for a caffe’ and a leisurely stroll.\u00a0 Ostuni is an ancient city that sits \"Cover\"<\/a>high atop a hill, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.\u00a0 The city is crisscrossed with winding stone streets lined with cute shops and restaurants.\u00a0 From Ostuni, we then drove to the Altemura Winery for a tour, wine tasting, and lunch.\u00a0 Altemura was originally a olive and cattle farm, essentially abandoned by the original owner.\u00a0 The farm was purchased by the Zonin family and converted into the winery.\u00a0 The Zonin family owns around five different wineries in the major Italian wine regions and the Barboursville Winery in Charlottesville, Virginia (we actually toured that vineyard several years ago with our friends Deb, Ken, Mark, and Gayle). This is a major winery of the region making several reds including a Primitivo, two whites, a rose’ and a sparkling rose’.\u00a0 Lunch started with appetizers of cheeses and meats, followed by a dish of orecchietti in tomato sauce, and then fried zucchini.\u00a0 Our wines included their rose which was very light and crisp, followed by their white wine (also light and crisp), and two reds, including their most popular Primitivo.\u00a0 Interestingly, this winery ages their red wines in oak prior to bottling.<\/p>\n

The last day of our tour was spent in the lovely city of Lecce.\u00a0 Lecce is a quaint and historic city that dates back to the Roman times.\u00a0 It was an important port city since \"Duomo<\/a>those times and therefore contains many noblemen’s palaces.\u00a0 Many of the palaces have been converted into homes and businesses.\u00a0 Several Roman ruins have been unearthed during construction of municipal buildings and are visible 70 to 100 meters below what is currently street level.\u00a0 There are several cathedrals in downtown Lecce, the most important being the Lecce Duomo.\u00a0 It was built in the 1500’s over what was once a Norman temple.\u00a0 The city of Lecce has done and continues to do a wonderful job of renovating its historic sites.\u00a0 What a beautiful city!\u00a0 Oh yea, was also managed to squeeze in a little shopping as well!\u00a0 Tonight we have our cooking lesson and dinner at Il Gusto del Tacco (The flavor of the heal, Puglia makes up the heel of Italy).\u00a0 Tomorrow we head back to Milano and then home.\u00a0 What a lovely vacation.\u00a0 Thanks to our friend and guide, Marcello, and to our new foodie\u00a0friends, Janet and David.<\/p>\n

Check out the other pictures from our trip in the photo album below.\u00a0 Either click on the “slideshow” or arrow down to page through the pictures one at a time.\u00a0 Enjoy!\u00a0 Don’t forget to sign in\u00a0on our Guest Page! \u00a0

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