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Autumn in the heel of Italy

Italy's south still has the capacity to surprise, excite and charm even the most widely travelled and experienced wine buyer.

Last autumn I accompanied Sebastian Payne MW, Society buyer for Italy, on a whistle-stop tour of the southern wine regions of the country. The purpose of the trip was mainly to see existing suppliers from Campania, Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria, but also to prospect for new wines.

Tim Sykes

Tim Sykes
Head Buyer

  • date November 2016
  • location Italy
  • people Tim Sykes
Rainy night in Naples

Rainy night in Naples

When it rains in southern Italy, it really rains! Luckily we were met at the airport and whisked off to producers of The Society's Falanghina, La Guardiense Co-op – one of the country's best.

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Puglia & the great Graticciaia

Puglia & the great Graticciaia

After a hair-raising detour into Basilicata we were back in Puglia to visit Agricole Vallone, home of Graticciaia, the region's best-known red.

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Calabria: highlight of our southern odyssey

Calabria: highlight of our southern odyssey

A first-time visit for The Society to Cirò in Calabria was a highlight of the trip. Remote and sadly neglected, this is one of the most beautiful, unspoilt regions of the whole country.

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Puglia on a Plate

Recipes: Puglia on a plate

Simple dishes and excellent-quality home-grown produce are the point of Puglian cuisine, but if you can't get there to try the food out for yourself, here are some recipes for recreating at home.

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Photo Gallery

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Santa Venere’s beautiful vineyards in Cirò, Calabria, in the toe of Italy’s boot, were a highlight of the trip. Welcome to the south! Peppers drying in the window at our hotel in Basilicata (they are dipped in hot oil and served crisp with the aperitivo) Security guards southern-style! Tenuta Rasciatano’s guard dogs keep a vigilant eye on us during our visit! At Racemi it was fascinating to taste through wines from the different soil profiles Do they do this every Friday evening? Were they here to send us off? We shall never know… The back streets of Manduria. Poor and rundown this neighbourhood might be, but I have never seen such heart-warming sentiments daubed on a wall - 'Every time I look at you I fall in love again - I love you' La Guardiense, producers of our Society’s Falanghina and one of Italy’s best co-ops, thanks in no small way to oenologist Marco Giulioli (on the right) Agricole Vallone – producers of our Brindisi Rosso & Rosato and Puglia’s most famous red, Graticciaia. This was the entrance to Castello Serranova – a beautiful venue for our tasting of the Vallone wines Simple local food was the perfect way to round-off our tasting of Cirò at Santa Venere in Calabria

Featured Wines

La Guardiense

Brindisi

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Autumn in the heel of Italy

Southern Italy 2016

Autumn in the heel of Italy

Tim Sykes accompanies Italian buyer Sebastian Payne MW on a whistle-stop tour of Campania, Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria, visiting existing suppliers and prospecting for new ones. Surprising highlights include sadly neglected Calabria and singing nuns!

View full trip
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In preparation for our first ever en primeur offer of 2013 Barolos, buyer Sebastian Payne MW heads to Piedmont in January 2017 to pick the best of the crop. His travelling companions, colleagues David Marsh and Louisa Peskett, both new to the region, share their experiences.

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