Wine Tasting & Lunch in Gaugnano, Puglia

In the quiet town of Guagnano, Puglia lies Feudi di Guagnano winery and tasting room. On one of my days off, a friend of my hosts( who are originally from Manhattan,) were kind enough to take me wine tasting in this area. The tasting room is set between wine barrels, a large jenga looking wine rack, and one table. Add a candle or two and this could be quite an intimate setting.

The wines were incredible, I’m confident in saying it is some of the best wine I have ever tasted. I particularly enjoyed the Nero di Velluto (black velvet), which was indeed velvet on the tongue, deep, complex (am I still talking about wine?), and all things I usually cannot handle in a wine but absolutely loved in this case. The bottle runs for 18 euro which, don’t quote me on this, is in the top price range for Apulian wine. I asked, but this one isn’t available through their Oregon distributor,dang! Yes, that is correct, I learned they have a distributor in McMinnville- small world! Anyway, guess I will have to ship a case back…

A few seconds down the road was the lunch stop. My hosts’ friend was considering adding the restaurant to her wine tour so we were all trying our best to be critics so she could decide. An overwhelming amount of antipasto was delivered to our table in the usual fashion. It is still a mystery to me how one is expected to continue with two more courses, dessert, coffee, and maybe limoncello too. I’ve yet to do it all in one sitting. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the effects this startling combination has on the body. Wine, coffee and then liqueur, the downer/upper combination has me in a coma afterwards and ready to be laying at a 45 degree angle for the rest of the day- you guys, I don’t think I’m cut out for this. Even so, at this restaurant the antipasto is a killer deal at 10 euro a person and like I said, more than even I can consume (and trust me that’s a lot).

#antipasto #Mediterraneanfood #italy #apulia #travel #puglia #europe