Puglia
Cost: On requestSingle Supplement: On request
Price Includes:
Tour guides; all meals and wine
at restaurants as scheduled; private coach
transportation to/from airports,
restaurants, events; cooking classes;
and hotel accommodations as
scheduled
Not Included:
International and domestic
airfares; excess baggage charges;
airport arrival and departure
taxes; travel insurance; meals,
wines, or sightseeing not included
in itinerary; personal expenses
such as laundry and
communication charges;
gratuities, email/fax/telephone
charges, and hotel minibar.
May & September, 2008
Join our food and wine guides, Michele and Charles Scicolone, for a 7 day day tour of Puglia.
You'll travel through a landscape filled with vineyards and groves of olives thousands of years old,
marvel at fairy tale trulli and explore beautiful baroque cities.
Day 1
Morning arrival at Bari airport. Private transfer to the 5-star Villa San Martino. Light lunch and mozzarella
demonstration. Relax or optional guided tour of the baroque town of Martina Franca.
Welcome dinner.
Day 2
We travel to Locorotondo, known for salame and flinty, white wines.
Tasting at artisanal salame maker. After lunch, we visit Alberobello, the Trulli
capitol of Puglia, recognized by UNESCO. Trulli are unique to Puglia, circular in shape,
and built from limestone without cement or mortar. Dinner at local restaurant.
Day 3
Drive to Matera, in the region of Basilicata, for a tour of the most outstanding,
intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region. In nearby
Altamura, we sample the bread--a hearty, rustic traditional loaf made from local ingredients including durum
wheat, and a yeast culture that's been nourished for the past half-century. Afternoon
at leisure and dinner at a Michelin star restaurant in Ceglie Messapico.
Day 4
A truffle hunt with Giuseppe Lolli and his dogs. A lunch featuring the truffles you found follows.
Afterwards we visit Corigliano which is located in an area called Grecia Salentina. Many people here
speak Griko, a blend of Greek and the local dialect. Finally, we visit the 16th century Leone di Castris winery
for a NegroAmaro wine tasting and tour. Transfer to 5-star Hotel Patria in Lecce. Evening at leisure.
Day 5
Tour of the port town of Gallipoli and the Olive Oil Museum.
Continue to Galatina for a tour of Santa Caterina and the Tarantate Museum. Legend
states that some Galatina women were bitten in the tobacco fields by a Tarantula spider. In order to
cure themselves, the women had to dance to the rhythm of percussive sounds. This
dance is now called pizzica and is the traditional dance of the area.
Dinner of local specialities.
Day 6
Morning cooking class and lunch in Lecce, famous
for home cooking. Afternoon guided tour of Lecce. Evening at leisure.
Day 7
Day of leisure to shop or wander in this beautiful baroque town. Farewell dinner.
Day 8
Private transfer to Brindisi airport. 
Michele Scicolone is a cookbook author and writer who specializes in food, wine and travel.
Her latest book, Entertaining with the Sopranos was published in February 2006. Michele’s
articles have appeared in Bon Appetit, The Wine Spectator, The Los Angeles Times,
The Washington Post, The Wine Spectator, The New York Times, Gourmet, Food Arts,
and many other publications. Michele has been a spokesperson for Williams Sonoma
and the Italian Trade Commission and has lectured on Italian culture and cuisine
at The Smithsonian Institute, Hofstra, and Henderson State Universities.
Charles Scicolone is the consulting wine director of I Trulli Restaurant and Enoteca,
a restaurant and wine bar with an all-Italian wine list, and Vino , an Italian wine and
spirits shop. He also teaches an extensive series of wine courses at Vinoteca. He has
lectured on Italian wines for the Italy America Chamber of Commerce, the Agricultural
Ministry of the Region of Sicily, La Cucina Italiana Magazine, the Region of Umbria,
the Italian Trade Commission, The Wine Media Guild and The Smithsonian Institute.
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