Top Lecce Food & Drink

- Learn how to make orecchiette "pasta fresca" in the heart of Lecce old town with the locals and in a wonderful location over an incredible Baroque view - Enjoy a guided wine experience with local experts and learn the ins and outs of Puglia wine production - make pasta and taste wine with the locals in a wonderful location with a gorgeous view

Lecce is best known for its sumptuous baroque architecture, but the city has an equally rich cuisine worth exploring. Discover both its cultural treasures and gastronomic delights with this tour that combines a guided walk past the Basilica of Santa Croce, the cathedral, and other highlights of the historic center with stops to sample traditional specialties like savory “rustico” and “frisella” pastries, and the sweet custard-filled “pasticciotto”.

Get an authentic taste of local culture during this 3-hour cooking class in a private Lecce estate. Join the estate’s owners, both professional sommeliers, to create a meal of Pugliese specialties, and then enjoy your meal with a selection of fine wine.

The wine tasting takes place inside a historic building, precisely on the panoramic terrace, located on the perimeter of the historic center. With this experience you can learn about the Apulian wine history and you can taste 3 local wines, through which to understand the typical features of the area. For those who wish, it is possible to learn the basic techniques for tasting. All the wines selected as well as being of quality, and never "entry level wine", are produced by small companies and in small quantities (10-12 thousand bottles per label) in historic cellars that produce wines with traditional methods and respectful of the regional style. The wines are combined with local products. The sommelier is at your complete disposal.

The city of Lecce is known for both its Baroque architecture and excellent street food. With this experience, discover the best of both without getting footsore by combining sightseeing and food tasting in a single bike tour. Zip through the picturesque lanes of the old town to take in the historic palaces and churches, stopping to sample local delicacies like “puccia”, “taralli”, and “pettole” washed down with Puglian wines.

I am considered by many an expert in wines and atoria and traditions of Salento. My main activity is to sell Salento wines all over the world. Now I am ready to offer you the opportunity to taste the best local wine labels and traditional dishes with me to discover together all the secrets of Salento wine and food.

Enjoy a quiet experience away from Lecce's tourist crowds. In a cozy wine bar with an inspiring deco, learn about Puglia wines and wine culture as you sip several different types of wine while enjoying delicious local food. Learn all about the local wine culture from your wine expert.

Get to know the sunny, seaside region of Salento through its most famous product: wine. Departing from Lecce, you’ll be introduced to native grape varieties and learn how wines have flourished in the arid climate. Visiting two wineries with an expert sommelier, you’ll cover the ins and outs of local wine-making, with a chance to savor some of the tastiest wine selections—paired with savory regional treats.

I worked for 15 years as a biochemical researcher of wine. Now I have transformed my dream and my passion into an activity dedicated to the world of wine, offering my clients an exclusive experience in the authentic culture of Salento wine. Thanks to my experience of online wine sales matured with my website I know perfectly all the cellars and wines of Salento. And now I want to use all my knowledge to give you the best and most complete wine experience you can find in Salento. Make yourself comfortable because the tour is about to start.

Take a break from the beaches and discover Salento’s food and wine, instead. With a private guide, you’ll visit two award-winning Salento wine estates where varietals using the primitivo and malvasia grapes, among others, are produced. As you sip, you’ll learn about viticulture in the region, and enjoy a light lunch either at the winery or nearby. Choose to add on a third winery or a swim stop at Porto Cesareo on your way back to Lecce.

Explore one of Lecce’s finest wineries at the most magical time of day on a sunset tour from Porto Cesareo. Designed with lovers of wine and nature in mind, this tour includes hassle-free pickup and drop-off from your accommodation, and the chance to sample several varietals of wine.

Unlock the secrets of Puglian cuisine during a cooking class in Lecce. Set in the historic center and offered at two times, it’s easy to fit this culinary experience into your schedule. With expert guidance from your host, prepare classic macaroni pasta, along with orecchiette and maltagliati noodles. After the hands-on lesson, sit down for a typical meal of regional dishes and your expertly prepared pasta.

Surrounded by the Adriatic Sea, and boasting beautiful baroque architecture, the Italian city of Lecce is a history-lover’s dream destination—but exploring without a guide means missing the city’s hidden secrets. On this tour, stroll through Lecce as your knowledgeable guide brings the city’s past to life—from the Roman era to the present day. Take in top attractions including the 17th-century Santa Croce Basilica, and sample traditional local ‘pasticciotto’ (filled Italian pastry).

The day takes place visiting two wineries: in each we will taste 3 or more selected wines ("NO entry level wines") Furthermore, my tours always have a convenient organized and private transfer, with their own insurance, which will allow you to taste the wines without worrying about having to drive. IMPORTANT: I always accompany my guests personally throughout the day and, as a professional sommelier, I am available for technical and non-technical information. During the experience we will visit historical and traditional companies while during transfers between one winery and another, I will have the pleasure of telling you the history of the wine of my region; in this way you will be able to appreciate the visits in the cellar, understanding how the Apulian wines were born and evolved. I visited and selected numerous wineries throughout Puglia and chose very small wineries often run by families, historic wineries or even cellars with an attached wine museum.

You can't visit Italy without trying at least one pasta dish... So, we'll teach you two! Learn how to roll 'sfoglia' (fresh pasta) by hand and how to prepare 2 simple different kinds of pasta (filled pasta + fresh pasta) from scratch with your Cesarina. As the icing on the cake you will learn to prepare also the iconic Tiramisu. Share your passion for the Italian cuisine as you make new friends in this hands-on cooking class. It's a great way to truly experience Italian culture. • Learn to roll 'sfoglia' (fresh pasta) by hand • Learn to make 2 iconic pasta types • Learn to make the iconic tiramisu • Small-group cooking class with a maximum of 12 people. Share your passion for the Italian cuisine with other lovely guests • Enjoy an Italian Aperitivo to warm-up Le Cesarine is Italy’s oldest network of home cooks all over the country. They are welcoming hosts that open the doors of their own homes to curious travellers for immersive culinary experiences.

Explore Puglia's gems—including Lecce and Gallipoli—on this full-day tour with wine tastings. See ancient architecture in Lecce and visit Gallipoli's Old Town, built on an island now connected to the mainland by a bridge. Taste wines such as Primitivo, Negromaro, Sussumaniello, Aglianico and Bombino Bianco at several vineyard stops.

This is the only experience of Salento cuisine that offers you a taste of the real typical products of our region. I will be happy to explain to you the whole history and the food and wine culture of Salento while we will prepare lunch or dinner tasting together the best wines of Salento.

Tasting is a unique and overwhelming moment, just like our wine, to be tasted slowly to savor nuances, smells, characteristics and properties. We love to accompany our visitors and let them enjoy a 360° enogastronomic experience: the taste of our wine goes perfectly with products and typical specialties of Salento, because it is the son of the Salento land and its most genuine fruits.

Discover the secrets of traditional Italian cuisine as you learn to make your favorite dishes. This cooking class takes place at a private country home just outside of Lecce, where you can shop for fresh ingredients at the village market, and enjoy an authentic local experience. Create a variety of dishes including fresh pasta ‘maccheroni’ and ‘orecchiette’, then tuck into your delicious homemade lunch, with wine and dessert.

Our fathers used to make wine here in Salento. A good wine, what today is called a "garagisti" wine, made in the family's millstone and sold locally: a zero kilometer product. We children were told that we had to work the land, already as children, so that we could understand how many poorly paid sacrifices and how much hard work it took to get by with the vineyard. And that it was necessary to study for a "profession", for a more dignified and profitable job than theirs, otherwise our future would have been in the middle of the "earth". But when it would have been simple and natural, for all that we had been taught since we were children, to abandon, sell or eradicate the vines we inherited, that's how it all took a different turn. It was decided all together, me, Carlo and Franco, to save the vineyards. Since then many harvests have passed, but when you come to visit us you will feel all the pleasure and beauty of tasting authentic wines

This wine tasting allows you to taste 3 reserve wines! These labels are recognized nationally and internationally and over the years have collected many important awards. The vintages that are tasted are always the most recent available on the market and may vary precisely based on availability. The wines on tasting are RED but the tasting can be customized. The wine is poured with the use of the Coravin system.

Get to grips with Apulia cuisine in an intimate, private cooking class at the home of a local “Cesarina” (chef). Accompany them to the local market beforehand to select fresh produce—and don’t worry about the language barrier—before going to their home and cooking three regional recipes. Complete the experience by tasting red or white wine and authentic Italian espresso.

Have you ever been to a local market and traditional food shop in Italy, full of ingredients you'd love to experiment with? This is your chance to visit a market with a local expert, choose your most inspiring ingredients, and create and name your very own two recipes.  Go food shopping with your Cesarina and choose 3-5 staple ingredients that capture your imagination before immersing yourself in a private cooking class at their home. With their expert guidance, you will learn how to prepare your chosen ingredients and make your own two Italian creations. Cultivate your creativity and confidence in the kitchen by adding an Italian flair to your dishes.  Then, taste everything you have prepared accompanied by a selection of red and white local wines. Le Cesarine is Italy’s oldest network of home cooks all over the country in more than 120 cities. They are passionate and welcoming hosts that open the doors of their own homes to curious travellers for immersive culinary experiences.

An old winery built in the mid-nineteenth century and closed for over fifty years. The Marra and Calabrese families have thus restored an ancient symbol of Salento oenology to its splendor, the fulcrum of an important architectural tradition, in which culture and territory are transmitted to the visitor through the impetuous beauty of the star vaults made with tuff and Lecce stone.