Bike & Wine tour of Puglia
Self-guided – 9 days
Puglia has become more and more important in local and international markets for the variety and quality of its wines: vigorous reds, floral and fruity rosé, fresh and pleasantly acidic white wine.
During this holiday, we will let you discover this real treasure kept in a unique sunny landscape with immense fields and vineyards, ancient history and authentic culture, Mediterranean scents and mouth-watering specialties!
Itinerary
DAY 1: PUTIGNANO
Arrival and check in. Welcome briefing and bike fit with a member of Puglia Cycle Tours crew.
DAY 2: PUTIGNANO LOOP
+/- 35 km
Your cycling holiday starts from Putignano, one of the towns in the DOC Primitivo of Gioia del Colle area, where an elegant red wine is produced from grapes that ripen on the rolling hills of the Murge plateau. In Putignano you will find a beautiful historic centre with many opportunities of excellent gastronomy, including a Michelin-starred restaurant.
DAY 3: PUTIGNANO - MASSERIA AMASTUOLA
+/- 55 km
From Putignano, you cycle across countryside lanes and wheat fields, towards the “Terra delle Gravine” (Ravines Land). Your destination is an extraordinary wine resort: a masseria (typical fortified farmhouse) with a vineyard garden designed by the landscape architect Fernando Caruncho.
DAY 4: MASSERIA AMASTUOLA - LOCOROTONDO
+/- 56 km
Today it is time to explore the Itria Valley, the very heart of Puglia: a fascinating scenery dotted by dry–stone walls, old masserie and “trulli”, our typical conic roofed rural houses. This is the homeland of the white grapes, whose acidity and aroma are among the most beautiful expressions of the climate and the karstic nature of this hilly area.
You discover the baroque town of Martina Franca and indulge a stroll in Alberobello, UNESCO site and world capital of the Trulli, until you reach Locorotondo, with its panoramic balcony overlooking the valley.
DAY 5: LOCOROTONDO - OSTUNI
+/- 55 km
Continue your ride on the Apulian Aqueduct cycling route, the “Ciclovia dell’Acquedotto”: a quiet and even path running in the lush countryside, amongst oaks, olive trees and trulli. After a stop by Ceglie Messapica, our cornerstone for good cuisine, you ride down to Ostuni. The white town will stand among groves of century and thousand-year old live trees: as you can imagine oil is the major speciality here, but do not worry at all, Ostuni PDO wines are worth a visit too!
DAY 6: OSTUNI - MANDURIA
+/- 54 km
It’s time to leave the labyrinthine alleys and whitewashed houses of Ostuni to taste another version of the Primitivo: the ruby-red Manduria PDO, a more full-bodied wine than its oldest relative (it is in Gioia del Colle that you find the first evidence of the cultivation of this vine), just like the sunny lands close to the sea. Here in Manduria you can discover this Apulian excellence, as well as the history of a town that dates back to the Roman domination.
DAY 7: MANDURIA - GUAGNANO
+/- 48 km
From Manduria to the little town of Guagnano, plunged in one of the most famous wine production areas of Puglia region. This area is indeed the capital of the Negroamaro red wine, which you can also taste in the Salice Salentino PDO, blended with black Malvasia or Primitivo above all. By the way, if you need to cool off along the way, take advantage of the sandy shores of Punta Prosciutto and Torre Lapillo, very famous amongst locals!
DAY 8: GUAGNANO - BRINDISI
+/- 57 km
Across vineyards and olive groves, alongside dry–stone walls and imposing “pajare” (Salento typical “trulli” with a square base), you will finally arrive to Brindisi.
It’s not just a strategical outpost since the Greek period, an important commercial harbour and lively centre, but also the town that gives the name to the Brindisi PDO, counting several red and white wines made of local grapes that are the result of karstic soil, sea breezes and balanced solar exposition. You deserve a taste to say goodbye to Puglia!
DAY 9: BRINDISI
Check out and end of services
