Masseria Amastuola

Why it’s on the Edit

Masseria Amastuola is a wine resort at Crispiano, around Taranto and the Ionian coast, in a masseria first mentioned in the first half of the 15th century. The document is an inventory of the properties of Giovanni Antonio Orsini, prince of Taranto, and it lists the farm among the assets of the Italo-Greek Abbey of San Vito del Pizzo in Taranto.

The estate covers about 170 hectares, mostly vineyards, with olive trees and dry stone walls, and it makes its own organic wine. The price band is 1 of 5, an estimate, because no official rate was found.

The buildings close around a large inner courtyard, the layout the site calls a farm with enclosed courtyard. The wine is the reason to come.

The rooms

The site lists six types, with sizes. The Main Suite is about 38 m² with a private terrace of about 40 m² and a design bathtub. The Superior Suite, on the ground floor in the sheepfold area, is about 49 m² with two bedrooms and a kitchen, and sleeps up to five.

The Suite Deluxe is about 38 m² with a large Jacuzzi. The Ovile Suite is about 35 m² with a whirlpool bathtub and the old stone vaults of the farmhouse.

The Exclusive Rooms are about 30 m²: five have a balcony over the vineyard, and two look onto the enclosed courtyard and garden. The Deluxe Rooms are about 25 m², on the ground floor, facing the Carrubo Garden, and one of the six is designed for guests with motor disabilities.

All rooms list air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a minibar and satellite TV. The Main Suite serves a continental breakfast in the room or on the terrace.

Eating and drinking

The restaurant, Amà, is housed where the cattle shed once stood, and the dining room keeps some original mangers. The kitchen offers Puglian dishes revisited in a modern way, a children’s menu and a detailed selection of wines.

The site lists the restaurant as open every evening from 7:30 PM, and elsewhere says lunch or dinner every day. Confirm hours with the resort before you plan a lunch. Private parties can be arranged on reservation.

The tasting program is the other half of the table, and the basic visit and tasting takes 1 hour 15 minutes. A fuller package adds an aperitif on an island of centuries-old trees in the middle of the vineyard, and another pairs five wines with five courses of Apulian tradition at a light lunch or dinner.

The setting

The farm stands in the Terra delle Gravine Nature Park, with a long alley flanked by centuries-old olive trees to welcome you. The vine rows were planted on the design of the landscape designer Fernando Caruncho, and they draw parallel waves between 24 islands of rearranged olive trees.

The site counts 1,500 old olive trees, some of them 800 years old, dated by the National Research Council in Perugia. The large green space around the farm is open to guests who want to relax and stroll.

The resort organizes excursions and guided tours to the main places of interest, and on site it has a bookshop and a barrel cellar.

Good to know

• Evening opening is listed from 7:30 PM, with lunch mentioned separately.
• The basic wine visit and tasting lasts 1 hour 15 minutes.
• One of the six Deluxe Rooms is designed for guests with motor disabilities.
• A pool, a spa, pets, children’s age rules and opening months are not confirmed here.
• Price band: 1 of 5 (estimated: no official rate found).

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Wine lovers, couples and small groups who want to stay on an organic estate, taste its bottles and eat in a restored cattle shed are the right guests. The Superior Suite, with a kitchen and two bedrooms, suits a small family or two couples.

A pool, a spa or a beach close by means a different trip. Hotel Il Grillo, at Marina di Pulsano, has an outdoor pool and a fish restaurant.

Getting there

Masseria Amastuola is at Crispiano, on the Strada Provinciale 42, in the Taranto and the Ionian coast area. Bari and Brindisi are the airports for this part of Puglia.

You need a car: the resort stands in the countryside, and the sea and Taranto are separate drives.