Dear friends (and curious strangers),

I’m writing from Puglia in southern Italy, one of our favorite escapes since we live not too far away in Abruzzo.

What started this completely crazy, unplanned, last-minute trip was a conversation about a Puglian wine we love.

We first stumbled upon it in a local grocery store, which isn’t unusual in Italy, where almost all markets carry regional wines. We packed it, along with several other bottles, into our suitcases to bring back to our daughter in the States, who adores Puglian wine.

After weighing our luggage, though, we realized we were several pounds overweight and had to make cuts. Since we weren’t familiar with that particular bottle at the time, it became the obvious choice to leave behind.

Naturally, it ended up being the best one.

We opened it after we got home from the US, fell immediately in love with it, and then, of course, couldn’t find it anywhere afterward.

An online search turned up several places to order it, but instead we somehow decided that driving across Puglia in search of that specific wine, plus others to stock our cantina, sounded much more fun…a wine scavenger hunt!

So, here we are.

One of the things we love most about Puglia is how easy it is to just wander around and get lost. We take random backroads, stop in towns we’ve never heard of, and end up eating incredible food and discovering places we still talk about years later.

Today we’re in Bari, winding down four very full days of beaches, historic towns, seafood, architecture, and wine hunting.

Our first stop a few days earlier, started in a tiny beachside town called Torre Santa Sabina, a quiet place with a handful of full-time residents, a 16th-century watchtower, and narrow streets lined with summer homes.

We stayed in a quaint little hotel overlooking the Adriatic Sea. In the streets below us were several restaurants and beachside bars. Most of our time there was spent walking along the water, eating delicious seafood, relaxing with a cold beer by the beach, or scouting out stores for local wine.

One of our day trips took us to a nearby winery that specializes in organic wines. I was curious to visit because they don’t use pesticides or chemicals on any of their grapes.

We did some wine tasting, which at 10:00 in the morning was a personal challenge for me, but we managed. We left with several bottles of delicious rosato, verdeca, and vermentino wines…and so the scavenger hunt officially began.

Since the town of Alberobello was very close by, it made sense to go check it out. We’d been before in the dead of summer, but it was way too hot to enjoy it. The weather was much cooler this time, so we decided now would be a good time to see all it had to offer.

But first we had to park…our GPS kept taking us in circles around the town and through tiny narrow one-way streets. One of the main roads was closed due to road construction, and I guess it couldn’t figure out how to get us where we needed to be.

We did manage to finally snag a space in a small parking lot we found. Navigating the parking meter machine was an even bigger struggle…I found it funny that us and about six other foreigners were all huddled around the same machine trying to figure the damn thing out.

Alberobello is famous for its trulli, the white, cone-roofed houses that look like something from a storybook.

We spent hours winding through narrow alleyways full of tiny shops, mostly trulli souvenirs. We stopped at an outdoor cafe that makes panzerotti, one of our favorite Puglian street foods, and people watched over lunch.

On the drive back to the hotel, we made the mistake of stopping at the local supermarket to check out the wine section.

That stop resulted in several more bottles of local whites, rosés, and primitivos, all under 10 euros, being added to the collection. But, they didn’t have the wine we were looking for…

The next day, we left for Ostuni, the famous “White City.” We’d driven past it many times before but never actually explored inside the heart of the city.

Again, parking…except this time, we had to find a spot for overnight. Parking in Italy is about as clear as mud. Once we got that behind us, we headed out.

We had so much fun getting lost in the labyrinth of whitewashed buildings and steep, narrow alleyways. At one point we stopped at a bar perched high above the town to sip wine and nibble on taralli, crunchy, bite-sized Puglian snacks, and looked out over a spectacular panoramic view of the surrounding valley and sea.

For dinner, we asked the waitress to bring us whatever was traditional to the area. She seemed surprised at first , but I had the feeling she was happy to share some of the local dishes. She brought out Braciole, stuffed beef rolls simmered in tomato sauce, and Pasta e Fagioli alla Barese, a creamy pasta dish made with beans and ricotta…what a meal.

The following morning, we made a few more stops at a local grocery store and a nearby enoteca (wine shop) before leaving town.

Then came the moment that justified this whole zany trip.

And there it was…the wine we’d been looking for! Along with several other local favorites we somehow felt obligated to bring home.

It wasn’t until this moment that we realized just how many bottles of wine we had accumulated in the car. A few bottles here, a few bottles there, over four days.

Nearly 30 bottles of wine.

The car had become a traveling wine cellar.

Back to today…we’re making a few final stops around Bari. Not to explore, and absolutely not to buy more wine, but to stock the car with some of our favorite Puglian foods for the drive back home. I have this route memorized…

First we’ll grab a few hot panzerotti from a tiny place called La Puccia…fried dough stuffed with tomato, mozzarella, and shredded meat. They’ll make them fresh for you when you order. They’re the best we’ve ever had.

Then, just around the corner is our favorite bakery, Martinucci Laboratory, where we’ll pick up some pasticciotti…shortcrust pastries filled with a rich, lemony custard. These are so good with a cup of coffee or a cappuccino.

And finally, just another few minutes’ walk, to Panificio Fiore…a bakery inside an ancient church, usually with a line around the block, for Focaccia Barese. Thick, soft, and chewy, with a crispy bottom, olive oil, and tomatoes.  It’s the kind of focaccia that ruins all other focaccia for you afterwards.

These should do nicely for the drive home.

We get asked sometimes why we don’t just move to Puglia if we love it so much. The answer is simple: if we lived here, I think we’d eventually stop appreciating how special it is.

Going to Puglia is still a treat, and part of the fun is bringing a little piece of it home each time.

Even if it happens to be 30 bottles of wine.

Until next time —

With love from Italy,

Jamie

I usually write every other week — and sometimes more when there’s a good story to tell.