Puglia-Grapes and Wine Tour

Puglia has a treasure of indigenous grapes that many wine lovers in and outside of the region, want to preserve and celebrate. Puglian winemaking is made with minimum use of chemicals. It produces more than any other Italian region (about 17% of the total): it boasts 26 different DOC and 6 IGT areas and some excellent vintages of its own. 90% of Puglia’s fast-growing number of bottled wines is sold outside Italy. There are red, rosè and white wines. The most important local white berry grapes are: Malvasia Bianca, Fiano, Moscato Bianco, Bombino Bianco and Vermentino, Verdeca, Aleatico.

Chardonnay is one of the most diffused white grapes of the region. Among the red berry grapes there are: Negroamaro, Primitivo, Uva di Troia, Malvasia Nera, Aglianico, Montepulciano, Sangiovese and Susumaniello but also international grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The Salento area is very rich of vines and excellent wineries, many popular wineries in fact exporting in Italy and abroad are produced in this area. The Salento wines are considered among the best wines in Puglia with an high concentration of territories in which DOC wines are produced. Negroamaro is king here ( ‘black bitter’): characterized by deep ruby red color, pleasant perfume and harmonious, velvety flavor, the flavor is full, balanced and with good tannins. It is used to produce some of the region’s best wines, giving the wines the right amount of alcohol and strong body. Negroamaro is often blended with the velvety Malvasia Nera. The result is a robust wine with good body. The wine made with this grape is elegant, harmonious, with intense red color.

Primitivo wines are generally high in alcohol content and full in body (Primitivo grape shares its genetic make-up with California’s Zinfandel varietal). The Aleatico grape is used to produce Aleatico di Puglia, Salice Salentino and Gioia del Colle wines.The wines produced with this grape are typically ruby red in color with deep purple highlights, are soft, velvety and sweet to the palate, with delicious fragrance and aroma of Moscato. The vine is widely grown in Apulia in the Salento area and in the province of Bari. Salice Salentino is a red produced in the Lecce province, primarily made with NegroAmaro, quite popular abroad because of the excellent ratio quality-price.

If you love WINE and would like to learn more about local wine then come join us for a wine tour. We will visit local wineries, meet outstanding producers, winemakers and of course taste great wine. To join our wine tours you don’t need to be a connaisseur, just to like wine and want to live a local wine day! Our tours are no touristy and off the beaten path. Your day tour will be arranged for winery appointments in the best wineries, and tastings at the best gastronomic farms. According to your needs and budget we will accomodate you and arrange a private minivan or coach. During our tours, you will discover family owned vineyards, meet local winemakers and taste excellent wine. You will visit enchanting small villages, meet the local folks and visit family-owned wineries.

Lunch will be in lovely places where you will taste traditional local food. Our wine tours in Puglia Salento encourage meetings between winemakers, tour operators, journalists, sommeliers, restauranteurs, wine lovers, writers, wine marketers and buyers from all around the world. Tours go out every day. For buyers and wine retailers, we will plan wine tours and B2B meetings with the wine makers according to your specific needs all year round and assist you in tasting samples. Whether wines have been a part of your life for years or are a new experience for you, we will help you find the right wines for you in Puglia and make you feel at home and in good company all the time. Any itinerary can be customized to your wishes.

YLTOUR in Puglia offers cooking lessons, winery tours, gourmet tours, harvest experience, excursions to artisan food and wine producers and of course, very popular cooking vacation programs that include accommodations and excursions to remote villages throughout Puglia and Salento. We’ll visit local farms, learn to cook tasty, healthy food using the freshest ingredients. The cooking classes will take place on site, in a spacious ground floor kitchen. Learn to cook authentic Puglia dishes in an informal and friendly environment: cooking classes are hands-on, using the freshest of ingredients and sampling the olive oil and wine produced directly on the grounds. On your free evenings, you can choose whether to have your dinner in the local trattorie, or stay at home and relax with a good Negroamaro wine and delicious local food.

Hands-on cooking class with a local mamma will have you cooking up local recipes or just sipping excellentwine of the area while you take it all in (what a hard life!). Enjoy a gastronomic experience and cook with the best local 0 Km vegetables and fresh ingredients, guided by warm chefs in beautiful country kitchens selected for you. YLTOUR’s culinary and wine travels include some of the most unusual and delicious cuisine, wines, desserts and PEOPLE you’ll ever find.