A Women-Only Wine Adventure in Puglia

Arrive in Lecce, settle into your hotel and enjoy the thrill of having a room all to yourself. No bathroom negotiations, no mysterious damp towel and no need to pretend you’re asleep while someone else watches television at full volume.

We’ll meet for a welcome drink and dinner, where you’ll meet your travelling companions and get a gentle introduction to the days ahead. There’ll be local wine, good food and absolutely no icebreaker that involves sharing an embarrassing fact. We’re here to enjoy ourselves, not audition for a workplace away day.

After breakfast, we’ll explore Lecce’s historic centre, a place where the churches and palaces are so elaborately decorated they appear to have been told there was a prize for using the most stonework. Our guide will show us the city’s grand sights and tucked-away corners, with time for coffee and a local pastry. Scientific research has yet to establish whether one pasticciotto counts as breakfast or a cultural activity. We remain open to evidence.

Then we’ll head into Salento for our first winery visit. We’ll meet the people behind the wines, see how the local grapes become something much more interesting than a supermarket conversation starter and enjoy a guided tasting. There’s no exam afterwards and no need to announce “notes of blackberry” unless you actually detect a blackberry. Saying “that’s lovely” remains a valid and respected tasting note.

Back in Lecce, the evening is free to relax, explore or find dinner. Your Tour Leader can point you towards somewhere good; they cannot stop you ordering another plate of pasta. That decision rests with you.

Today we’re heading to Manduria where Primitivo is the local celebrity and has not yet become difficult to book for dinner. We’ll visit two wineries, each with its own take on the region’s wines and winemaking traditions. Expect cellar stories, tastings and a proper look at what makes these wines distinctive.

There’ll be a leisurely lunch between visits, because attempting two winery tastings without lunch would be poor planning and would also make the afternoon’s conversation revolve entirely around bread. We’ll have time to enjoy the food, compare favourite pours and discover who has become the group’s unofficial expert at spotting the best cheese.

After a full day in wine country, we’ll return to Lecce. Nobody needs to deliver a speech about the grapes. If you’ve found a new favourite, that’s more than enough.

We’ll make our fourth winery visit today, exploring more of Salento’s wines and meeting another local producer. Four wineries means four different perspectives, a pleasantly broad view of the region and a strong possibility that somebody will start taking photographs of barrels as if they’re old friends.

Then it’s time for olive oil. We’ll visit a local producer to taste Puglia’s famous liquid gold and learn why a peppery finish is a compliment. You’ll leave with a new appreciation for olive oil and perhaps a slightly judgmental attitude towards the bottle at home.

In the evening, we’ll roll up our sleeves for a hands-on Puglian cooking experience. Aprons are provided; claims of being “quite good at pasta” will be gently investigated. We’ll finish with a farewell dinner, raise a glass to the group and celebrate having made it through four winery visits without anyone being asked to identify a wine blindfolded.

After breakfast, it’s time to say goodbye to Lecce and your new travelling companions. There’ll be time for one last coffee and a final look around before departures.

You’ll head home with favourite wines, new friends, a camera full of Baroque architecture and the ability to say Primitivo with the confidence of someone who has spent several days conducting serious field research.