“Ifyou arestruggling,
I recommend todrink
more wine,”Giannasays
encouragingly,topping
up myglass.bottomofyourknife,rollit outandtheninverttheshapeby
pushingit downontoyourthumb.Thedeepridgesoforecchiette
areperfectforretainingsauce,makingit thekindofpastayou
wanttodrenchinglossy,salty,tomatojuices.
I amasbadat makingorecchietteasI amat makingburrata.
(Bothrequirehand-eyecoordination,ofwhichI havenone.)
Marco,Gianna’ssouschef,surveysmymisshapenorecchiette
- lessear-shapedandmorelikesad,deflatedballoons– grimly.
Beforelong,hequiteliterallytakesmattersintohisownhands
andstepsintohelpme.“Ifyouarestruggling,I recommendto
drinkmorewine,”Giannasaysencouragingly,toppingupmyglass.
Nowthis,I amgoodat.Pugliais Italy’slargestwinemaking
region,producing 17 percentofthecountry’stotalvinooutput.
Inthepast,thiswinewasproducedinbulkandhappilydrunk
bylocals,rarelyexported.Buttoday,thePugliesemethodof
production– simple,usingnativegrapesandbiodynamicmethods
- is in demand across the world. There are four grapes worth
noting:negroamaro,a redvarietygrownontheSalentocoast;
primitivo,a richandspicyred;susumaniello,oneforallthe
roséloversandgrownmostlyinthevineyardsoutsideLecce;
andverdeca,lightandchic,thekindofwhitewinetheheroine
ofa NancyMeyersfilmwoulddrinkbythebottle.
Pugliahasalwaysbeensun-drenchedandfertile,whichis why
it’sa particularlygoodplacetomakewine.Butthesearealso
particularlygoodconditionstomakeoliveoil.It wastheRomans
whofirstrealisedthatwhentheystartedplantingtreesupand
downtheAppianWay,theancientroadthatconnectedNaples
withBrindisi, 300 kilometrestotheeast.Theirgoalwasfuel:olive
oilpoweredlightsourcesandtools,givingthemthewherewithalto
marchdowntheworld’sfirstsuperhighwayandsetoff,at Brindisi
port,fordestinationsas farflungas theBalkansandAsia.Today,
thereareabout 60 milliongnarlyandtwistedolivetreesinthe
region,allofwhichareprotectedbyairtightlaws.If youwantto
builda houseona pieceoflandbearingRomanolivetrees,you
betterbepreparedtobuildit intheshadeofthegrove. According
to Pugliese law, no olivetreecanbeuprooted.T
hereareplentyofmodern
highwaysinPugliatoday.But
if youhappentobedriving
towntotown,betweenthe
white-washedcornersofOstuniandthe
hillsofCisternino,say,youmayfindthe
quickestrouteis onthesame2300-year-
oldroadthatthoseRomansoldiersoncemarcheddown.Aswe
speedalongtheAppianWayonemorning,pastfieldsoffennel
and cime di rapa – that curly-leafed, bitter broccoli that goesso➤