There is no better way to get to know the Gargano in depth than to include food and wine visits in your itinerary. The spur of Italy preserves a well-rooted culinary tradition and you must know that it is one of the few areas of our beautiful country that has not been completely industrialized! On the one hand this phenomenon requires longer and manual processing but on the other it makes the food particularly good and genuine.
Food and wine of the Gargano from North to South
The food and wine of the Gargano is very particular when compared to the rest of Italy. We could define the Gargano as an Italian white pearl in which culture, tradition and respect for the environment coexist and resist over the centuries. Traveling along the promontory, from north to south, we come across San Nicandro Gargano where it is possible to taste the traditional first course: pancotto, a soup with stale bread boiled in broth, the symbol of a poor cuisine but full of flavour.
Traveling in these areas it is easy to meet the Podolian cows grazing, from which the farmers obtain the milk and produce the Podolico caciocavallo. The typical sweet is the pupurat, a dry and very spicy donut. Continuing towards Vico del Gargano you can taste the poposcie, a sort of flattened and stuffed focaccia: delicious! Going south between Peschici and Vieste, the dishes are enriched with the catch of the day and once you reach Monte Sant’Angelo you cannot fail to taste its bread. It is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, a compact loaf of gigantic dimensions (up to 80 cm! in diameter) to which are added wafer filled with caramelized almonds.
Slow food presidia
Slow Food presidia are committed to protecting biodiversity and we can consider them as a sort of guarantee of an agricultural model based on respect for the territory and local culture. The first garrison we meet in the Gargano is in Rodi, here there are endless expanses of oranges and lemons, the only exception of the entire Adriatic coast! The citrus fruits of the Gargano represent the cultural identity of this village and from their processing limoncello, arancino, laurino and mostocotto are obtained.
Continuing the journey into the hinterland of the spur of Italy, we suggest a food and wine visit near the village of Carpino, a point of reference in the production of broad beans, a food that was once poor but is now considered precious. To complete their preparation, another local product is added and perhaps the best known: extra virgin olive oil obtained from the expanses of plantations present in the area.
Food and wine visits: the wines
In a food and wine visit, the tasting of the local wine cannot be missing. The vineyards of the Gargano allow the production of a vast type of wine that is exported all over the world. Also in this case all the steps of the production cycle have very little technology and a lot of traditional. This allows to obtain a tasty and genuine wine. To name a few: in the center of the promontory Nero di Troia is produced, tasty and decisive. In Vico del Gargano Macchiatello is obtained from a single vineyard, the last remaining natural. The grapes of the Gargano National Park give the:
- Daunia Bianco Teodora
- Daunia Salso di Felice Rosso
- Daunia Donna Luisa Rosso
- Daunia Vino del Padrone
- Daunia Donna Luisa Bianco.