The last post in my Taste of Puglia series was about the best bites from the region. But what drinks pair well with all that excellent southern Italian food … wine … coffee? Sure! Puglia can be proud of its contributions to these two most significant liquid elements of Italian culture.
Caffe in Ghiaccio con Latte di Mandorla
Iced coffee with almond milk? Yes please! Pardon the pun, but I went nuts for this flavourfully embellished way folks in Lecce like to enjoy an espresso. The tastiest had was probably at Caffe Tito Schipa, situated in the heart of Lecce and a pleasant spot to take a break with plenty of shaded outdoor seating.
Quarta Caffe
Speaking of coffee, I spent the better part of one morning during my trip at the roasting and blending facilities of Quarta Coffee, on the outskirts of Lecce. In the coffee roasting business for more than 60 years, Quarta began as a café with onsite roasting. Over the past six years or so this family owned company has grown to be the 11th largest coffee brand in Italy (out of more than 500 other brands and as measured by bags of raw material imported). The Quarta family is proud to claim theirs is the first eco friendly business in Puglia, using 70% renewable energy with the aim of zero mile production to be achieved soon.
Pulled by an expert barista at the quaint bar at the main entrance to the facilities, the Quarta espresso I had was a tasty number – and properly Italian too. I was informed that the Quarta blend is the typical “Italian mix” which usually means 80% arabica and 20% robusta, in the case of Quarta from a variety of sources across Latin America and Africa.
Keeping an eye on the future of java sipping in Italy and abroad with a keen interest in current coffee trends and a tip of the hat to how his granddad started out, third generation Edo Quarta runs his own micro-roasting lab, experimenting with single estate beans and flavour profiles less associated with the traditional Italian espresso.
Not all the likely to be found on the shelves of shops in London, I was told Quarta is stocked at some coffee retailers in town as well as by a few shops specialising in products from Puglia.
More details at quartacaffe.com.
Cantina Coppola
The Coppola family (no relation to Francis Ford) has been tending vineyards and making wine in Gallipoli since 1489. And since the 1940s, they’ve been bottling and marking their vino too. I paid a visit to the winery while in Gallipoli and was impressed with just about everything I sipped during a tasting in the sea level cellar only some 200m from the sea.
Of particular note were the Li Cuti – a delicate single varietal Vermontino white; the award winning Doxi – an 80% indigenous Negroamaro and 20% Malvasia Nera red offering rich flavour with a hint of vanilla custard; and Tafuri, a naturally sweetened Passito dessert wine that’s a blend of indigenous Negroamaro and Primitivo grapes.
Bottles at the winery shop were excellent value with most priced around or under €8. The Passito was €15. The family makes delicious extra virgin olive oil too and runs a campsite with sandy beach access and a waterpark featuring the largest for miles around.
Visit Cantina Coppola online at cantinacoppola.it and lamasseria.net.
D’Alfonso del Sordo
One of two wines for northern Puglia I’ve come across here in London – and very much savoured – at a “reception to celebrate Puglia and its gastronomic delights” at the Grosvenor Square residence of the Ambassador of Italian to the UK, was a quaff from San Severo based winery, D’Alfonso del Sordo. The winery’s 2012 Casteldrione (100% Nero di Troia) was an exceptional full-bodied red worth seeking out. Details at dalfonsodelsordo.it.
L’Antica Cantina
The other northern Puglia wine sipped at the same Grosvenor Square reception was the spicy and tannic Nobiles (Nero di Troia) from L’Antica Cantina (also based in San Severo). More at anticacantina.it.
More about my Taste of Puglia coming soon!
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