When I travel to wine regions I feel compelled to see at least one winery. Though this was our honeymoon and visiting a winery is "technically" work I really wanted to see Tormaresca. As we were piecing our travel plans together Francesco, general manager of Tormaresca and a friend, offered to host us at the Bocca di Lupo estate for the night and then show us the Masseria Maime estate on our way to Lecce. How could I say no?
Tormaresca is a relatively new Puglian winery that was created in 1998 by the Antinori family. The Antinoris are one of the most famous, prolific, and powerful wine families in Italy. They produce wines in every price category from all of Italy. Tormaresca is one of their newest estates and has been developing into its own over the past five years. The winery is actually two distinct properties: Bocca di Lupo in Minervino Murge in the north and Masseria Maime near Lecce in the south. The two estates grow different grapes an produce different wines but all under the label of Tormaresca. 
After driving around the Gargano for the day, Shauna and I met Francesco in Canosa di Puglia, a small village near the winery. Though he gave us great instructions we went to the wrong meeting point but he eventually found us and took us to the estate. Bocca di Lupo is beautiful (picture at left). It is 247 acres of pristine vines in every direction with a brand new winery, guest house and offices in the middle of it all. Once we arrived Francesco gave us a tour of the winery and the new property. It was not quite finished but every detail was amazing. The tasting room was modern in design but somehow not...great Italian design. The barrel room was exquisite with an exposed wall of chalk, showing the subsoil that the vines must dig through to search for water. Francesco informed us that we were the first guests to spend the night and have dinner at the estate. We were totally excited, albeit humbled that he would invite us to this splendid property. After the tour we had some down time until dinner. Shauna and I were shown to our room, a lovely bedroom that would give the Ritz a run for the money.
Francesco, Valentine (guest relations manager for Tormaresca), Shauna and I had an amazing dinner prepared by the in-house chef. Per our eating experience in Puglia the dinner was many courses of local ingredients and was fantastic. During dinner Francesco began to pull out various wines from the cellar. Our first wine was Pietra Bianca Castel del Monte DOC, which is a blend of Chardonnay and Fiano. The wine is pale gold in color with aromas of golden apples, apricots and lemons. The palate is medium in body, has well integrated oak spices and a long finish. Our second wine was the estate's flagship, Bocco di Lupo 2003 Castel del Monte DOC. The wine is 100% Aglianico and is as bold as its name. The wine is opaque in color and the aromas are dark and brooding: black cherries, black plums, ash, and well integrated spice from the oak (60% new French oak). Our last wine of the evening was Kaloro ("warm gold), which is a Moscato di Trani DOC 2006. The wine was a warm gold color with floral and stone fruit aromas that were succulent but not overbearing. The wine was rich but well balanced and finished with a zip of acidity that help was down the creamy dessert. After a sip of Amaro (a bitter digestive) we were off to sleep.
The next morning we got up, had an espresso, some toast and hit the road south towards the second property, Massaria Maime. The southern property is roughly two and a half hours south of Bocco di Lupo near the city of Lecce. The estate is 500 acres and is primarily planted with Negroamaro, Chardonnay, and Primitivo. The vineyards run straight to the edge of a cliff that is about 150 feet high over looking the sea. The proximity to the cool breezes allow the vines to get a respite from the intense heat of Puglia. This is a key factor in creating fine wine and is translated in the wines of this estate.
The estate is named after the farm house that is on the property. The original
building was constructed in the mid-1400's by the Cappacci family and was purchased by the Antinori family in 1999. In addition to rows upon rows of vines there are loads of olive trees for making olive oil. The small family chapel to the right was built at the same time as the original farm. It is the only structure that was not destroyed by a fire in 1800's. When we stepped into the chapel it was like walking back through time, seeing the original alter was a moving experience. To be in the chapel of a family that had been on this farm for over 500 years was unfathomable. The building was in disrepair with cracks in the celling and cobwebs all over but the entire farm and chapel are soon to be renovated to be used as a guest house for the Antinori family.
After touring the farm house and the new winery we headed into Lecce for lunch. We had quite the adventure driving into Lecce as our hotel was located in the heart of the old town, and ever street we turned down got smaller and smaller until we could not fit our car down the street. We even needed Valentine to get out of the car to hold traffic back as we made a thousand point turn so we could go in the correct direction. Before my head exploded we decided to park, grab our bags and walk to the hotel. We trucked to the hotel and again the gracious staff agreed to get our car.
We eventually got settled and met Francesco at La Cafeteria al Alex Bar, a nondescript restaurant from the outside with tuxedo clad servers in. Again, we prepared our stomachs for what was to become a marathon eating and drinking session filled with crudo, pasta with lobster, pork, and sweets. It was an amazing meal. Our eating was like a crescendo, in that each meal continued to get bigger and bigger and better and better. At lunch Francesco showed us two wines, the Primitivo (same grape as Zinfandel) called Torcicoda Salento IGT or "twisted tail". The wine was from the 2003 vintage and would be a great wine for those who want to try something from Italy but are a bit nervous about the acidity or lack of fruit. This wine was explosive with loads of blackberry aromas and flavors with a spicy finish. Though Zin is not one of my favorite grapes the wine had enough "Italian-ness" to keep me interested in the wine. Our second wine was the southern estates flagship, Massaria di Maime Negroamaro Salento IGT 2004. This wine is a knockout! As with most southern Italian wines it is dense, dark, rich and full of well developed fruit aromas and flavors. The wine shows how a wine maker can take a hot region, the right grape and create a wine that shows the region but keeps the wine in balance. This was not the case for many wines we tried on our trip, but the estate wines from Tormaresca all had a sense of place with balance and structure.
Our day and a half with Francesco and Valentine was a great side excursion on the honeymoon. Even though Shauna had to sit through some boring wine talk, we kept it brief and enjoyed the company and learned more about Puglia, the people and the products.
For more on Puglia and its wines please visit Italian Made
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