Wine Tasting from Bari, Italy

Now it's Kalisera, as it's afternoon, in Corfu!  I don't have my notes so I will try to recap our wonderful day of wine tastings.  Giavanni and Maria were superb tour guides.  Our group of 11 cruise critic members were met pier side and hopped into our van.  We visited two wineries in the Puglia region of Italy.  We learned that "love is wine" and "wine is love" and that some Italian grandmas were given a glass of wine each night before bed and they had 12 children!!! LOL!

The first vineyard that we visited, Cantine Polvanera, was a smaller one and the owner and master wine maker, Filippo Cassona, was so handsome and sooo Italian if you know what I mean. We toured the vineyards as well as the cellar and had a tasting of spumante, red, and white wines.. note that the sampling was an ample serving in a Reidel glass and was served along with antipasto... bruschetta was prepared table side with olive oil from their farm and balsamic vinegar ... also served was foccacia with tomatoes, garlic, anmd olive oil... crackers and such.  oh my! 

We purchased a bottle to take back to the ship for enjoyment on our balcony.

The next winery was a larger and older one.  We learned how they bury cow horns in the soil beneath the vines ... I'll tell ya about that later.  Another tasting... and then on to Matera for lunch and a walking tour of the charming city with cave dwellings or Sassi

  Lunch was at a small local family owned trattoria... anti pasto plate with 4 cheeses, 4 meats (salami, proscuitto, etc.) and grilled vegetables along with bread, local red wine by the pitcher,pasta, and meats... lovely ricotta/coconut/almond/chocolate cake for dessert... I was in heaven.  Next up was a quick walking tour of Matera before heading back to the ship... I think we were the last ones onboard.. if you know Ken, you can imagine how he was checking his watch!!  OK, this Greek computer has stopped again... so signing off once more...

Love y 'all miss y'all,