Living There
Puglia, in southern Italy, is becoming the new hit destination for food and wine enthusiasts. Nestled in the Mediterranean Sea, the Puglia region is an amazing peninsula often called ‘the heel of Italy’s boot’.
Boasting unparalleled historical and artistic patrimony, 3 UNESCO world heritage sites and 800 km of stunning coastline, the region is rapidly growing in popularity for its delicious Mediterranean food and wine culture.
With the increase of tourism in Puglia, travellers interested in authentic food & wine experiences such as cooking classes, wine tasting and mozzarella workshops have noticeably risen. Food is a fundamental part of Puglian culture and the culinary traditions of the region, typical to the Mediterranean cuisine – fresh vegetables, use of olive oil, cheese, seafood, handmade pasta, homemade bread – are certainly something remarkable for every foodie or healthy food lover.
Aria Luxury Apulia is a London based tour organiser that offers a beautiful assortment of hotels and villas, classy holiday ideas and Authentic Food and Wine experiences unique to Puglia, Italy. If you love to cook and eat well and you enjoy good wine, you will appreciate the exclusive Food & Wine Holidays collection provided by Aria Luxury Apulia.
Puglia boasts of an incredibly rich sea and country food culture. Seafood is an important part of the cuisine of Puglia, since the Puglian long seacoast offers loads of fresh fish and crustacean. Puglia is also famous for its high-quality olive oil: the region produces nearly 40% of the extra virgin olive oil of whole Italy.
Handmade pasta of Puglia – made of high-quality durum wheat – is absolutely a must try Puglian food and it is done in different shapes, with the most typical pasta of Puglia being ‘orecchiette’ (in English small ears). The famous Puglian bread of Altamura is considered one of Italy’s best breads and has even granted a DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta – Protected Designation of Origin) certificate.
Fresh and seasonal vegetables – grown under the sun – are also used in abundance in Puglia. Let’s not forget about the mouth-watering cheeses, with the famous Burrata, a delicious cheese made of mozzarella and cream produced exclusively in Puglia. Also meat, such as lamb and pork are eaten traditionally in Puglia.
Puglia can definitely be proud of the huge variety of its ingredients, and still Puglian food is kept simple, fresh and delicious! The best way to enjoy Puglian food is to participate to one of the exclusive Food experiences proposed by some of the best skilled chefs of the region.
Having a Puglian Cooking Class is the perfect choice if you want to learn how to prepare and cook a complete menu with typical recipes from Puglia. One of the most sought after cookery class in Puglia, taking place in Lecce, includes cooking one or two different kinds of handmade pasta, one second meat or fish course, a side dish and a delicious dessert. The chef, who is also a professional sommelier, leads participants through at least two wine tastings during the cooking class. After preparing the full Puglian meal, the participants enjoy what they have just prepared unwinding all together. This is an extraordinary culinary experience in Puglia!
Food and Wine in Italy are so strictly connected, that you really need to pair the exquisite food of Puglia with the bold wine produced from the local grapes to enjoy both at their best.
Do you know that Puglia produces more wine per year than any other Italian region? With almost 20% of the wines of whole Italy and dozens of award-winning wines, Puglia is a heaven for wine enthusiasts.
The most famous Puglian grape is Primitivo, which is used for making the top-quality wine Primitivo di Manduria – a full in body red wine with relatively high alcohol ratio. The most widely grown grape variety of Puglia is Negroamaro – in English black bitter. The exclusive Negroamaro grape is used to produce some of the region’s best wines.
White wines in Puglia count for less than 20% of the overall production of the region but are gradually growing in importance. Local grapes such as Bombino Bianco are Verdeca are some of the Puglian white wines.
One of the best ways to discover Puglia’s wines is to participate to one or more Wine Tasting experiences held in some of the best wineries of Puglia.
Relying on a tour company dedicated to this amazing southern Italian region, means for discerning travellers to have the opportunity to experience only the best of Puglia. For example, Aria Luxury Apulia has chosen a stunningly romantic location for a unique experience for couples: a tour to a Puglian vineyard and winery followed by an enchanting candlelit dinner in a majestic 16th century castle. This luxury experience in a sumptuous fortress is classy, enjoyable and dreamy at the same time and it gives to a food and wine experience in Puglia an exclusive romantic touch.
Puglia’s food & wine culture is very rich and the land offers countless possibility to live memorable culinary and wine tasting experiences. To discover more about wines and Puglian gastronomy and get to know better Puglia, visit Aria Luxury Apulia website.
