The Grove, the Vine and the Sea

October 29 – November 2, 2026

Join us in the Olive Grove.

A five-day hands-on workshop exploring olive oil, wine, regional cooking and the history of agrarian landscape.

The olive harvest is one of autumn’s defining agricultural events in southern Italy, part of a long history of cultivation that has influenced the region’s landscape, economy and food culture. Ancient grain cultivation, pastoral cheesemaking, viticulture and centuries of Mediterranean trade offer a fascinating account of the people, agricultural practices and cultural exchanges that have contributed to Puglia’s identity.

The autumn harvest brings us into the olive groves to gather fruit and follow the olive oil extraction at a working mill. Through professional tastings, we examine the characteristics of different cultivars, the influence of cultivation and extraction methods, and the distinctions between quality, classification and marketing. Conversations with growers and producers introduce the challenges of contemporary olive cultivation and the preservation of historic groves.

Join a local family in their olive groves for the annual harvest, a seasonal ritual filled with anticipation and trepidation as the year’s yield is revealed. Work alongside the family, harvesting olives and following their journey to the mill for extraction. Gather around the family table for a celebratory lunch and savour the fragrant, vibrant taste of freshly extracted olive oil—the essence of a year’s care and the land’s generosity.

The workshop explores the agricultural and social history of Puglia and neighbouring Basilicata through encounters with the people who cultivate its land, produce its food and maintain its agrarian practices. The ravines, rock-hewn settlements, churches, agricultural terraces and pastoral routes help us understand how people occupied, cultivated and adapted to this terrain over centuries.

We spend time with shepherds making cheeses, prepare regional dishes using seasonal produce, and investigate the history of grain, bread and the protected identities of local foods. At vineyards and archaeological sites, we examine the history of wine production and the agricultural economies of the ancient world. Along the Adriatic coast, harbours and millenarian olive trees introduce the movement of goods, people and agricultural knowledge across the Mediterranean.

Over five days of harvesting, cooking, tastings, and excursions, we get to know farmers, shepherds, artisans, and producers whose work continues to shape the region’s food culture. Archaeology, geography and agricultural history provide the context for understanding the foods we prepare, taste and share.

Taste and Compare Freshly Extracted Olive Oil
Witness the olive oil extraction process firsthand and savour the season’s first oils.

Extraction Methods
Learn about the evolution of olive oil production, from traditional practices to modern techniques.

Distinguish High-Quality Olive Oil
Uncover the clues to identifying authentic extra-virgin olive oil.

Conduct an Organoleptic Evaluation
Assessing olive oil positive and negative descriptors through sensory analysis.

History of Olive Cultivation
Delve into the rich history of olive trees and their central role in Mediterranean culture and economy.

Demystify Labels and Marketing Definitions
Decode terms like “extra virgin” or “cold press” and learn to navigate olive oil labels.

Gastronomic Uses and Health Benefits
Discover the culinary versatility, flavour profile and nutritional value of oils from different olive varietals with tips for incorporating them into meals.

Cheesemaking  at 3rd century B.C.E. Fornello Cave site
Make the cheeses of Puglia: pecorino, mozzarella, bocconcini, treccia, burrata, scamorza. Learn about traditional rennet and aging. Meet with the shepherd and his family to bring in the flock from the pasture.

Morning at the market 
Sourcing seasonal produce.

All-day cooking 
Cooking traditional regional dishes.

Visit Historical – Archaeological Sites and the Monumental Multicentennial Olive Trees
Learn about the region’s wealth of history, architecture, art, and landscape.

A Journey Through the Olive Harvest and the World of Olive Oil

The olive has been cultivated in Puglia for thousands of years and remains central to the agricultural, economic and food history of the Mediterranean. Set within the Murgian landscape of Gravina, Altamura and Matera, this five-day workshop examines olive cultivation and oil production through the region’s agricultural practices, historic landscape and contemporary harvest.

Working in the olive groves during harvest, participants learn about local cultivars, soils, pruning and tree management, harvesting methods, and the factors that influence the character and quality of olive oil. Visits to working mills follow the olives through extraction, providing an opportunity to compare production methods and taste newly extracted oils from the current harvest.

Exploring the Harvest, Food and Agrarian Landscape

A Day at the Family Olive Harvest

Join a local family in their olive groves during the annual harvest, taking part in a ritual that has shaped rural life for generations. The harvest is a time of anticipation and trepidation, as months of tending the trees culminate in the uncertain outcome of the season’s yield. Working alongside the family, we participate in the daily harvesting operations and share in the collective effort that brings the olives from the trees to the mill. We then gather around the family table for a celebratory meal, experiencing the pleasure of the first freshly extracted olive oil with unmistakable taste of the new harvest.

At the Olive Mill and Groves

What should its freshly extracted oil taste like? At the mill, follow the harvest through extraction, taste the first oils, and see how decisions in the grove and at the mill shape their character. Discuss cultivation with producers whose families have tended these groves for generations. Consider the olive tree as a crop, an inheritance and a historical record of the southern Italian landscape.“Extra virgin” is a classification, but how do we recognize its qualities in the glass? Investigate adulteration, production methods and marketing terminology. Through comparative tasting, develop a vocabulary for identifying an oil’s aromas, flavours and defects.

At the Shepherd’s House

Does cheese have a season? Spend time with the shepherd and his family at Fornello, bringing your questions to the house, the pasture and the cheesemaking process. Explore the relationship between the flock’s diet, the character of its milk and the cheeses you make and taste.

Why This Loaf, from This Place?

What does Altamura’s DOP designation protect? Examine the relationship between grain, flour, method and geography and how a familiar food becomes the subject of a precise definition. Consider how geographical indications and protected designations influence the production, identity and reputation of regional foods, and the sometimes complicated relationship between historical practice and modern regulation.

At the Masseria: Cooking the Autumn Harvest

Spend a day preparing regional dishes with olive oil, autumn produce, preserved ingredients and handmade pasta. Cook wild boar over the fire and examine the methods of preparation and preservation associated with the agricultural calendar.

Wine and the Agricultural Past

Taste regional wines at a hilltop winery and discuss the landscape that produces them. Archaeological evidence of Roman winemaking at Vagnari opens questions about cultivation, storage and consumption: who produced the wine, who drank it, and what can its surviving traces tell us?

The Mediterranean Exchange

Among monumental coastal olive groves and over lunch beside the Adriatic, explore the relationship between cultivated land and maritime life. Wine, oil and vessels crossed the sea with merchants and travellers; knowledge, tastes and agricultural practices circulated with them. Consider Puglia’s connections with the ancient Greek world and how exchanges across the Mediterranean entered its fields, agricultural economies and food practices.

Culinary Traditions and Local Practices

The workshop extends into the broader food culture of Puglia through a cheese-making session with a local shepherd at a historical Byzantine site, followed by a walk through the fields to meet the shepherd and flock. You’ll also visit a bakery to witness the traditional production of Altamura D.O.P. bread and spend a day cooking seasonal recipes, where you’ll engage with local culinary practices.

There will also be time for wine tasting at a local winery, offering an opportunity to connect with the broader agricultural heritage of the region. These activities provide a rounded understanding of the interconnected traditions that shape Puglia’s food culture.

The workshop is led by Puglian native Tonio Creanza, the Founder and Director of Messors and 6th generation olive oil and durum wheat producer, along with his colleagues of local farmers, cheese makers, shepherds, historians, restauranteurs, etc.

Tonio grew up on his family farm tending to durum wheat, vineyards and olive tree cultivation in the historical and archeological rich setting of Puglia. As a cultural heritage conservator and 6th generation olive oil producer, his knowledge and passion for food and history is echoed in the workshops he has been running for the past 25 years. The hands-on and in-situ approach of the workshops creates an enriching living school model and culturally connecting experiences for travelers and locals.