I’m sitting on a sunny terrace overlooking the Gulf of Taranto in Italy’s southern Puglia region, and it’s absolutely spectacular. If the world goes to hell in 2010, this will be on my short list.
Puglia is Italy’s breadbasket– staple crops here grow like wild flowers due to the temperate climate and rich soil. It hardly rains here (this is a plus for me), yet ground water is abundant, so it’s fairly easy to yield quality crops.
Plus it’s cheap, especially by European standards… land costs, food costs, living costs, etc. are well below the Italian average, which is well below the Western European average.
The region also produces some of the strongest, most exquisite grapes in Europe. The better known Tuscan wines often fortify their blends with ‘Pugliese’ grapes, and I’m convinced that this area will become the next ‘it place’ in the wine industry.
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2009-12-23
