All I can say is- wow. Puglia is pretty fantastic and I’ve only seen what is in and around the hotel where I am staying in Monopoli (as I arrived last night in darkness.) The landscape here is quite different from any other region in Italy. It’s very rustic… in a Greek way, if that makes any sense. The property is covered in and surrounded by the most massive olive trees I have ever seen. We’re talking ancient. And the warm air smells of sweet flowers and green herbs. It’s delectable.
So, the reason I’m here: I Vini Radici, a festival here in Puglia that celebrates and judges the wines of the region. There are 3 days of focused tasting sessions organized by grape, some winery visits and some pretty fab dinners where wine will be flowing in abundance.
Day 1. It involved 2 poolside lounging sessions… and 67 wines. We’re getting down to business (and pleasure!) straight outta the gate. Today was all white and rosé wines, which the region is not the most known for. It’s star and claim to wine fame are red wines made from the primitivo and negroamaro grapes. So, I was excited to see what bombino, fiano minutolo, negroamaro (rosé) and primitivo (rosé) had to offer.
Oh and did I mention one of my best friends in the whole wide world is here on the judging panel with me? I know…life works in pretty magical ways sometimes. Also- please take note of the extremely large tree trunk blob to the left of Christina’s face. That’s one of the olive trees I was talking about. Crazy.
Well guys- gotta run. A dinner of fresh fish by the sea is awaiting me. Tomorrow we dig into the red wines and Christina and I are going to go explore a bit on our bikes. I smell another video in the works….
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bhmf now that you’re so faymiss and fansee don’t forget us wine scrabblers!
so glad you’re having an awesome time…
hopefully we’ll see you later this month… abbraccio j
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