Harvest season in Sicily and Puglia is a wonderful time of year to visit, just as the fruits of the locals’ labor are ready for the picking. September and October are also the months for deserted beaches, warm seas, quiet towns, and a tranquil atmosphere. Travelers looking to experience the harvest season in luxury should look no further than luxury villa specialists The Thinking Traveller, experts in Sicily and Puglia, who are just the people to ask about the best things to see and do during this most mellow of seasons:
Discover Sicilian wines With its rich, fertile volcanic soils, Mount Etna is a wine growing paradise known by many in the trade as the new Burgundy. Many indigenous grape varieties are grown on the flanks of the volcano, including Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese and Carricante, as well as several international favorites, such as Pinot Noir. Through The Thinking Traveller's Mount Etna wine tour, travelers can enjoy a wine tasting at Planeta’s Sciaranuova winery on the north side of Mount Etna and have a few bottles delivered straight to their Sicilian villa with the company's wine delivery service. Some exceptional villas that can be booked include Rocca delle Tre Contrade, Linera, Don Venerando and Il Palmento dei Castagni.
For a unique wine and olive harvest experience, travelers can also book a harvest experience with Planeta’s La Foresteria in Western Sicily, which can be paired with a stay at Angheli, Oliva or Acquamarina.
Celebrate with a Sagra Both Sicily and Puglia come alive throughout the harvest with sagre (food and wine festivals). For the optimal experience, guests can book Ai Faraglioni, Demetra and Euridice villas for a luxurious place to rest between the food & wine festivities. There are sagre to celebrate the sausage, pistachios, arancini and even cous cous, in San Vito Lo Capo in Sicily. Most towns and villages pay homage to their local specialties and give thanks to nature’s bounty, usually an excuse for a good party with music, dancing and traditional costumes.
Try Puglia’s verdant nectar - olive oil With its nearly 60 million olive trees, Puglia accounts for around 40% of Italy’s entire olive oil production. Travelers visiting during the olive harvest should be sure to head to an oil mill to sample and purchase some freshly pressed, deliciously fruity and aromatic olive oil. The Thinking Traveller offers exciting olive oil tours or can even arrange tastings for guests in the comfort of their own villa, several of which are converted oil mills that continue to produce their own olive oil, including Villa Elia, Lo Iazzu and Villa Eterea.
Taste the local cheese The transumanza is an age-old autumnal traditional when the shepherds bring their flocks down from the mountain pastures to the valleys below, a millennial activity that also signals the recommencement of ricotta production. The Thinking Traveller arranges tastings of burrata (in Puglia) and ricotta (in Sicily), with private visits to local cheesemakers, including a cheese making experience in Alberobello that can be enjoyed by guests of Trullo Pinnacolo, Trulli Andrea, Fichimori and more.
Lose yourself amongst the market stalls In September and October, market stalls in Sicily and Puglia brim with multicolored prickly pears, luscious black figs and the last, sun-sweetened melons. Throughout the season autumnal foods such as roasted chestnuts, porcini mushrooms, olives and top-quality extra virgin olive oils are all showcased. One of the best markets to experience this autumnal abundance is in Ortigia, Syracuse, and one of The Thinking Traveller’s most popular Think Experiences is its street food tour of this ancient, captivating town, along with villas Masseria Gargallo and Ortigia that can be booked in the area.
