Puglia is not the first Italian wine region that comes to your mind but it definitely should be on your radar if you like Primitivos or refreshing Whites and Rosés. I didn’t plan this trip around wineries and tastings but we learned that Puglia is the second-largest producer of wine grapes in Italy and was able to stop by a couple wineries and wine bars in various small towns of Puglia.
Near Bari/Polignano a mare
Main pedestrian center in Polignano a mare is filled with cute restaurants, shops, and bars and it’s super fun to walk around. I found these two small bars next to each other and loved it!
HOPS Birreria & Wine Bar: various beers on tap and wines by the glass. They also had a “beer spritz”!
La Casa Del Mojito: This is technically not wine but who would’ve thought I’d have one of the best mojitos in Italy?! They use fresh ingredients and don’t skimp on them either. I tried ginger and passion fruit flavors and loved both.
Near Ostuni
Tenuta Santoro Wine Bar: Winery with a nice outdoor setting in addition to the tasting room inside a traditional Trulli! Tasted through 4 wines (2 reds, 1 white, 1 rosé) for €15 and bought a bottle of refreshing white and red. Puglia region typically doesn’t grow grapes like Cab or Merlot but their vineyard is located in a small valley that
Vinicolo: Charming wine bar in the Ostuni city center. Host was super nice and went out of the way to offer various wines by the glass. He also had great recommendations on other wineries to visit in the area. We ended up getting a glass of sparkling, white, and red.
Borgo Antico Bistrot: Located in the middle of switchback streets, such a fun unique place to enjoy aperitivo before dinner. We had an amazing fresh cheese charcuterie plate with a few drinks. There’s a cute instagrammable blue door on top of the street.
Near Lecce
Cantele: Their wines were fairly common on local restaurants’ wine list and seemed to be one of the bigger wineries in the area. We didn’t make reservations so didn’t get to do the full tour and tasting but the host was super nice to give recommendations in the area and we ended up buying a bottle to try!
Feudi di Guagnano: This tasting room is in the small town of Guagnano and their rosé was
L'Orecchietta: This place was recommended by the host at Cantele for lunch and local wines by the glass. Deli style counter has fresh hot and cold pastas, salads, seafood, meats, and veggies. They have an entire wall of local wines and have a lot of them available by glass. Great place to stop by for lunch with wine. I don’t know how pricing works (we just pointed at dishes that looked good 😆) but our 3 plates of food and 2 glasses of wine was around €20.
Otranto
L'Ortale Ristoro SAlentissimo: I loved this hidden wine garden. Lots of choices by the glass or bottle (each bottle was only 15-20) and the garden was the most relaxing place to sit and drink.
La Cambusa: This wine bar is located right in front of the Aragonese Castle of Otranto so you get a great vibe and view of the Castle. Good selection of local wines by the glass!
I’ve also bookmarked these wineries but did not get a chance to visit:
L'Astore Masseria
Michele Calò & Figli
Azienda Agricola Cosimo Taurino
Castello Monaci
Masseria Li Veli
Overall, Puglia wines are a great value at €10-30 per bottle and definitely recommend trying it out!