Experiences in Puglia
Updated at: 25-03-2024
Participating in important events for a territory is the best way to understand its culture, discover its roots, appreciate its traditions and cuisine.
Experiences in Puglia are activities that tourists are invited to carry out, in private or in groups, to get to know the territory and the Apulian citizens better. By participating in the experiences in Puglia, the guest will be able to learn about events and places unknown to most visitors and to appreciate the beauty and poetry of the landscapes. With the experiences in Puglia, the visitor will have the opportunity to personally experience manual activities, together with masters and experts, in the agricultural, manufacturing, fishing, tourism and gastronomic sectors. The activities carried out in the workshops of the experiences in Puglia represent the foundations of the Apulian culture and invite the participants to get to know the history and culture of Puglia in depth.
The activities organized with the experiences in Puglia represent a way to share with visitors what made Puglia what it is today and the things it is famous for in the world.
The experiences to do in Puglia involve all the senses of visitors regardless of what you choose to do.
The visitor will find himself immersed in breathtaking landscapes, with oases of wild nature that enrich the landscapes on the coast, in the countryside or on the flourishing hills.
Having an experience on the territory in Puglia means immersing yourself in the millenary peasant and seafaring traditions, in places that exude history at every corner.
Experience in Puglia: what to do
There are many experiences to do in Puglia and it is possible to satisfy every curiosity and need.
All the experiences foresee, at the request of the visitors, a 360-degree organization.
You can participate alone, as a couple, with the family or in a group. You can choose whether to move independently to reach the places where you can participate in the experiences or take advantage of rental cars or request a vehicle with driver for all the people who participate.
The organization of events and experiences is open to any request, to ensure a trouble-free stay, and ready to satisfy every need.
The numerous partners and services that work at Experience Puglia all collaborate to the success of the initiative and therefore to the complete satisfaction of the visitors.
The most important experiences that can be done in Puglia are:
- harvest
- olive harvest
- know and work with typical products
- wine experience
- tastings
- visit historical places
- visit natural wonders
- gastronomic tours
- visits to private, secret or little known places
Experiences in Puglia: where they are made
There are many places to participate in experiences in Puglia.
The experiences are spread over the entire territory of the region and are able to satisfy all kinds of needs.
There are experiences that are organized near the two airports, in order to minimize travel and get the most out of the experience.
Other experiences are further away from public transport hubs, forcing longer journeys, but they are still easily accessible and it is possible to participate even for a few days.
In Puglia there are 3 basic types of environment in which to experience:
- sea
- countryside
- hill
Experiences in Puglia: types of experiences
The experiences in Puglia are so varied that it is difficult to classify them objectively.
The types of experience in Puglia can be grouped into 6 categories:
- culture
- traditions
- history
- gastronomy
- excursions
- field trips
- guided tours
Experiences to do in Puglia
Below you can find out about the different types of experiences that you can participate in so you can decide which ones to take part in based on your aspirations and curiosities.
Let's start with the first of the experiences, the harvest, which begins in late summer.
The harvest is part of the culinary gastronomic experiences together with the olive harvest, wine tasting and the manual production of typical gastronomic products (pasta, taralli, sweets, cheeses and more).
The harvest involves many tourists at the end of their vacation and many others who instead organize their holidays away from the summer heat, the skyrocketing prices and the lack of available services.
Harvest in Puglia
When summer comes to an end, during the month of August, tourists slowly begin their return home, freeing squares, streets, beaches and places of art from their constant presence.
Right at this time, when tourism workers begin preparing their businesses for the winter shutdown, a new kind of turmoil animates the region. With the end of the summer season begins the agricultural production of wine with the harvest.
The Harvest is the event that marks the beginning of the wine production phase and consists in the activity of harvesting the wine grapes, traditionally carried out by hand, by detaching the ripe grapes from the vines.
The bathing establishments are preparing for the last weeks of work before the winter closure but the wine producers have already begun the preparations for the harvest and are waiting for the right grapes to ripen in order to open the season.
During the harvest, the collectors select only the grapes that are healthy and ripe at the right point to be started for the production of wine. The harvest in Puglia begins approximately in August and ends in October.
Harvest experience in Puglia: when to do it
An exact date for the start of the harvest does not exist. Indicatively, the harvest period in Puglia runs from the end of July to the end of October.
Only the winemaker and the agronomist can determine when exactly the grapes are ripe at the right point to be harvested and processed.
In making their forecasts, farmers take into account the quality of past seasons that have influenced the growth and ripening of the grapes.
The winemaker knows how much water and sun the vines have benefited from and knows how much bad weather and damage they have suffered. Based on the knowledge handed down, on his experiences and on the observation of the ripening of the grapes, the winemaker is able to establish the exact moment in which to start the harvest.
If you were on holiday in Puglia during the harvest period you will notice the frenzy and the activities of preparation for the harvest.
Farmers, companies, farms, agritourisms, numerous individuals and entire families prepare for the harvest and subsequent processing of the grapes at home.
The tools are prepared for the grape harvest together with the tools and containers, which will be used immediately after the production of the wine and the storage of the must.
Harvest experience in Puglia: why do it
Harvesting grapes by hand is an experience to try both to learn the secrets of good wine directly from the experts of the area and to spend pleasant days in the open air getting closer to nature and the Apulian culture.
Right in the middle of your summer vacation, or on a specially organized trip, you could plan the grape harvest experience to learn the secrets of grape harvesting and wine production accompanied and guided by skilled local winemakers and collectors.
Together with them you will be able to experience the joyful working days of the grape harvest and the happy evening tables enriched by excellent local food and some of the best Apulian wines (red, white or rosé).
During the experience in the vineyards you will contribute to the harvest but also to moments of joy and sociability.
Harvest experience in Puglia: sociability and good food
You will have the opportunity to taste many fresh typical dishes directly in the vineyard, during one of the many breaks or during meals.
In fact, the families of the collectors have always prepared typical dishes specifically to be consumed during work or at the end of the day.
The meals consumed during the harvest consist of typical products cooked at home by the ladies who participate in the harvest.
The dishes are cooked, with love and in large quantities, using only the freshest products.
The food, prepared by the families of the collectors, is shared and exchanged among the workers of the vineyard, in order to give everyone the opportunity to taste each of the delicacies prepared.
Harvest experience in Puglia: wine culture
Anyone should experience the hand-picking of bunches of grapes and witness their processing and transformation into wine must.
Taking part in the harvest means taking part in one of the events in the area that only the inhabitants are able to appreciate firsthand, socializing and benefiting from it.
Working in the production of wine is hard work but it is also satisfaction for the things you discover and the joy you feel in moments of conviviality and fun.
Collecting grapes and producing wine with the winemakers and harvesters will make you discover the traditional values of the Apulian territory linked to the culture of wine.
The harvest was the final moment of a year of work. Not only did the whole family participate in that phase, but at the end of the harvest we all celebrate the end of a tiring year of work together.
You can live the experience of spending beautiful sunny days in the countryside, in a joyful environment, learning how to make wine and enjoying the typical products of Puglia.
Harvest experience in Puglia: meet wine makers and producers
The grape harvest in Puglia is a tradition carried on with pride by the local winemakers
The Apulian hinterland is characterized by the high agricultural vocation of its land. There are born the fine red wines and the fine rosé wines that have been able to establish themselves on the world scene thanks to the vines of negroamaro, primitivo, malvasia s and susumaniello.
You can visit the cellars that deal with these vines, enhancing and bringing them back to the spider they deserve.
By participating in the harvest, you will learn not only how to harvest grapes and produce wine, but also savor to the full what the winemakers and gatherers teach during the experience.