Private Insider Wine & Gastronomy Experiences
Hosted by Chef Marcus & Jamie Guiliano
Primitivo • Negroamaro • Matera • Trulli • Ancient Villages • Southern Italian Soul
Private custom travel also available for groups, families, and culinary clubs.
Travel Southern Italy’s sun-drenched heel from Bari to Lecce, Manduria, Taranto, Matera, and Alberobello through Primitivo country, ancient cave cities, masserie, trulli, handmade pasta, vincotto, and family wineries that carry the soul of Southern Italy.
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Puglia is not polished the way Northern Italy is polished, and that is exactly why we love it — sun, stone, olive trees, ancient villages, big-hearted food, and wines with power and history, a region of farmers, families, and old vines where Marcus and Jamie have spent years building relationships in Manduria, Salento, Matera, and Gioia del Colle that don’t open from a brochure.
Bari gateway, Lecce, Manduria, Salento, Taranto, Matera, Basilicata, Alberobello, Gioia del Colle, Gravina, and the hidden villages that make Southern Italy feel personal, layered, and alive.
Private winery visits, Primitivo and Negroamaro tastings, Aglianico del Vulture cellars, masseria wine resorts, a Matera cave hotel, handmade pasta experiences, vincotto traditions, Amaro Lucano, long lunches, small group access, and slow travel shaped by chef-led hospitality.
Join a hosted Apulia departure, or ask us to design a private version for your own group.
Private winery experiences, producer relationships, owner introductions, family hospitality, long lunches, small groups, and insider access. Because often the owner becomes your guide.
Expect handmade pasta, Primitivo-friendly meats, vegetables, seafood, burrata, olive oil, focaccia Barese, orecchiette, rustic breads, local cheeses, and the kind of meals that remind you Southern Italy is not trying to impress you — it is trying to feed you.
Each day is designed around the rhythm of place: coastal cities, ancient cave dwellings, old-vine wine country, masseria estates, and the family hospitality that defines Southern Italy.
Arrive in Bari and begin with lunch before heading inland to Terrecarsiche for your first Fanova Primitivo experience in Gioia del Colle. The road then continues toward Lecce, where Baroque stone, narrow streets, cafés, and Southern Italian evening energy set the tone. The opening reception and dinner unfold in Lecce.
Mornings in Lecce move slowly. Churches. Stone streets. Espresso. Then leave the city for Cantele, one of Salento’s important modern wine families, for tasting and lunch. Continue to Vinilia Wine Resort, a restored mansion in the heart of Primitivo country, for dinner and wine at the estate.
Today goes deeper into Salento. Visit Gianni Calogiuri for vincotto, one of Southern Italy’s great sweet-sour culinary treasures. Continue to Agricole Vallone for wine and lunch before visiting Schola Sarmenti. Return to Vinilia and relax into wine-country life.
Visit Produttori di Manduria for the deeper story of Primitivo, including its museum of wine civilization. Lunch follows before visits to Masseria Trullo di Pezza and Gianfranco Fino. Check into Amastuola Wine Resort, a 15th-century masseria surrounded by vineyards and olive trees. Small bites, wine, and quiet countryside in the evening.
Begin with a handmade pasta experience at Pastificio del Colle. Lunch brings the flavors of Gioia del Colle before time in Taranto, a city shaped by sea, history, and ancient culture. Return to Amastuola for a tasting and cellar tour. This is slow Southern Italy at its best.
Leave Puglia and cross into Basilicata. Visit Lucano for a deeper look at one of Italy’s iconic amari. Continue to Matera, one of the most spectacular cities in Europe. Check into Sant’Angelo, explore the Sassi, and gather for wine on the balcony before dinner in the cave city.
Today belongs to Basilicata wine. Visit Cantina di Venosa and Grifalco, two important producers connected to Aglianico del Vulture. This is volcanic wine country. Structured. Ancient. Powerful. Return to Matera for dinner at Trattoria del Caveoso.
Visit Botromagno near Gravina and enjoy lunch nearby. Continue to Alberobello to walk the iconic trulli — white stone, conical roofs, a landscape unlike anywhere else. End the journey in Bari with one final dinner together.
Expect Southern Italian wines shaped by sun, sea, stone, and centuries of farming. Primitivo, Negroamaro, Susumaniello, Verdeca, Fiano, Malvasia, Aglianico, Aglianico del Vulture, Gravina DOC whites, Salento Rosato, vincotto, and Amaro Lucano. A masterclass in Southern Italian flavor.
Bari Karol Wojtyla Airport (BRI). Brindisi Airport (BDS) also works for guests routing through Salento.
Only 8–14 guests are invited into this hosted Apulia experience. Leave your details and Marcus or Jamie will personally share more tour details.
Your details are used only to follow up about the Apulia hosted journey or private travel request.
