Puglia Archives - Dr. Liz Thach, MW

Driving from Puglia to Sicily via Basilicata and Calabria

(May 2016) Though most people take an airplane flight to Sicily, since we were already in Puglia and had a big comfortable bus with a great chauffeur for our 28 travelers, we decided to drive. It turned out to be an excellent decision because we were able to see some very beautiful parts of Southern Italy, including the non-touristy provinces of Basilicata and Calabria. The Beach in Scilla, Calabria Basilicata – Home of Aglianico del Vulture We left our hotel at 8am and eventually came to the border of the Basilicata province. Basilicata was similar to Puglia, in that the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T13:41:50-08:00August 3, 2016|

Alberobello and Lecce – Two Key Cultural Sites of Puglia

(May 2016) Because Puglia is one of the oldest regions of Italy – colonized by the ancient Greeks in the 8th century BC – it is considered to have many important archaeological and cultural aspects. We visited two of these, namely the village of Alberobello and the walled city of Lecce. Trulli Houses in Alberobello Amazing Alberobello - Fairytale Town with Conical Stone Houses When I read about the village of Alberobello on my previous trip to Puglia and didn’t have time to visit, I made a promise to myself that I would return and stay there some day. Therefore, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T13:42:11-08:00August 2, 2016|

Cavorting at Cantine Cantele – A Joyful Winery in Puglia Focusing on Negroamaro

After lunch in the historic walled city of Lecce, we drove about one hour north to Cantine Cantele, a large beautiful winery housed in an impressive white stucco building in the country. We were welcomed by Federica in Hospitality who had warned us in advance that Cantine Aperte was taking place in Italy that weekend. Cantele Winery - Photo Credit: Cantele.com “What is Cantine Aperte?” I asked. “It sounds like ‘winery open’.” “Yes,” she said, “It means that most of the wineries in Italy have an open house that weekend, and that anyone can visit the wineries and taste wine [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T13:42:34-08:00July 31, 2016|

Cantine San Marzano – Home of the Best Primativo in Puglia, Italy

When I contacted Angelo Cotugno, Export Manager at Cantine San Marzano, to see if we could schedule a winery visit on Sunday morning at 11am, I didn’t realize that wineries are usually not open on Sunday in Italy. Since I’m from Napa/Sonoma, where Sundays are often one of the busiest wine tourism days, I was caught off guard when Angelo informed me they were not open. “However, we will open the winery especially for you!” These were such sweet words to my ears, and so incredibly kind – illustrating the warm hospitality of Puglia. Indeed, not only did Angelo show [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T13:42:57-08:00July 29, 2016|

Overview of Puglia Wine Region

(May 2016) Driving from the hills of Campania to the flat dry plains of Puglia illustrated the strong difference between these two famous wine regions of Southern Italy. However, even though they are very different in landscape and grape varietals, it only took us two hours to drive from Benevento to Alberobello, the ancient and charming town we stayed in for our two days in Puglia. Alberobello is a Unesco World Heritage site because of its unusual “trulli” architecture – tiny conical shaped houses made of stone. Truilli Architecture in Alberobello, Puglia The Unique Beauty of Puglia’s Landscape and Climate [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T13:43:45-08:00July 10, 2016|

A Wine Tour to Southern Italy – Exploring the Regions of Campania, Puglia and Sicily

(May 2016) We just finished a 12 day wine tour of Southern Italy, and it was truly amazing. It started and finished in Rome, but focused on the three major regions of Campania, Puglia and Sicily. We also included some cultural stops along the way such as Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast in Campania, the ancient cities of Alberobello and Lecce in Puglia, and the amazing seaside village of Cefalu in Sicily. Our Wine Delegation in Rome The following blog posts describe the highlights of the trip and the nine wineries we visited. There were 28 of us in total [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-01-23T13:45:43-08:00June 13, 2016|