Antica Masseria Jorche

Antica Masseria Jorche, winery and agritourism, is a relaxing oasis not far from the enchanting Ionian coast, surrounded by greenery among vineyards, centuries-old olive trees, pine and eucalyptus trees, on the outskirts of Torricella, one of the municipalities that are part of the Primitivo di Manduria appellation.

Dalila and Emanuela Gianfreda, land owners, have set up a young and dynamic business that should be kept an eye on by those who are looking for a break from the daily grind and like to explore the territories under the banner of good food and, of course, good wine.

Jorche is a Spanish-derived name turned into "furchi" from the local dialect, the structure dates back to the 1600s, was over time owned by several successive nobles, until 1990 when the Gianfreda family decided to buy it from the heirs of Baron Vito Bardoscia. A deep affection binds the two sisters to the family and to their roots, the concept both in the winery and in the masseria is authentic, the personal imprint, the attention to detail and the desire to enhance and preserve the native territory through wine tourism does not go unnoticed.

Dalila, the eldest, has studies in marketing and communication behind her, Emanuela is the oenologist, graduated in Viticulture and Oenology in San Michele all'Adige, and then pursued a master's degree "Italian Wines and World Markets" at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa.

The renovation of the masseria is in harmony with the landscape, the characteristics of the buildings have been maintained: stone walls, white plaster, arches, vaults and chianche.There are 19 accommodations including rooms and apartments with kitchenettes. Each guest recognizes his or her entrance by the name or plaque on which is engraved one of the many sayings of folk tradition. To quote the best known: "Tacca lu ciucciu do voli lu patrunu" or "Fatt'la cu li megghi di te e fanci li spesi."

"Jorche is our home, we grew up here with our grandparents and our parents engaged in the restoration work," says Dalila Gianfreda. "As adults we decided to continue the path we had already taken, we honor their commitment, we protect the masseria and its originality, we improve it without distorting it. We are both convinced that in Apulia there are already enough luxury masserias, relais and resorts, we want to keep the rural spirit of agritourism intact and ensure hospitality with all comforts. For five generations our family has produced wine but has always sold in bulk," Dalila explains. "Emanuela and I decided to take the plunge, following the entire supply chain and bottling under our own brand. The first vintage was in 2011 and the labels came out in 2013. We grow Primitivo, Negroamaro, Fiano minutolo and Bianco di Alessano."

The masseria restaurant is in a beautiful old semi-hypogeous oil mill, the team is all female, the cook is Maria Giannotta. The cuisine is genuine, of great quality, tradition reigns with grandmother's dishes but from time to time there is no shortage of daring touches, the vegetables come from the adjoining vegetable garden, the other raw materials from local suppliers, everything is seasoned with oil made in the masseria based on Ogliarola and Leccino. The courses are paired by Dalila with wines from the cellar located nearby; as a perfect hostess, she takes care of the room, welcomes guests, tells them about the dishes and their history. The set menu changes daily. We recommend trying the fava bean and country vegetable meatballs, good, stringy and flavorful. A great classic is ciceri e tria, made with homemade pasta, chickpeas cooked in pignatta and fried pasta really tasty, for second the seared tuna with two sesame seeds with smoked eggplant cream and caramelized onion with stracciatella inside.

Dulcis in fundo, the selection of cheeses from the Olivaro dairy based on fresh caciocavallo, goat cheese and then pecorino aged in Primitivo pomace was paired with the new label La dote di Manuvè, a tribute to the recently deceased grandmother Emanuela, a strong and independent woman, out of the ordinary for the time. An unusual Primitivo obtained from 60-year-old vines, the harvest was made in 2012, for 10 years the wine was stored in some of the capasoni (Salento amphorae) that were part of grandmother Emanuela's dowry, 500 bottles were produced, all numbered.

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