Galà delle Eccellenze del Vino e degli Oli di Puglia

The award-winning wines featured in the AIS Vitae 2027 Guide and the finest Apulian olive oil productions will take center stage and will be included in a new dedicated guide.

Four territories and four chefs will showcase the identity of extra virgin olive oil through cuisine. The evening will be hosted by RAI journalist Gianluca Semprini.

The Apulian wine and extra virgin olive oil sectors will meet on December 5, 2026, at the Nicolaus Hotel, starting at 5:00 p.m., for a new edition of the Gala of Excellence, an event organized by AIS Puglia—the Italian Sommelier Association—which celebrates the quality, culture, and identity of the region’s food and wine products.

The evening will be dedicated to the excellence of Apulian wines and extra virgin olive oils, with two complementary initiatives designed to promote them: on the one hand, the wines recognized in the AIS Vitae 2027 Italian Wine Guide, and on the other, the region’s finest olive oil productions, which will be featured in a new publishing project leading to the creation of the 2027 Guide to Apulian Olive Oil Excellence, developed by AIS Puglia sommeliers.

The aim is to showcase the products that best express the richness and diversity of Apulia’s agri-food heritage, recognizing the work of producers and promoting an increasingly informed appreciation of wine and extra virgin olive oil.

The event will be hosted by Gianluca Semprini, RAI journalist, who will guide the audience through the most significant moments of the evening. The event will also be covered by the cameras of TG5 Gusto, with journalist Gioacchino Bonsignore.

The wines featured in the Vitae 2027 Guide and the new Guide to Apulian Olive Oil Excellence

The Gala of Excellence represents an opportunity to recognize the work of Apulian wine and olive oil producers, as well as the role played by AIS sommeliers in spreading the culture of quality.

For the wine sector, the main attractions will be the wines recognized in the Vitae 2027 Italian Wine Guide, the AIS publication dedicated to selecting and promoting the finest expressions of Italian winemaking.

For extra virgin olive oil, the 2026 edition marks an important new step: AIS Puglia will produce the 2027 Guide to Apulian Olive Oil Excellence, an editorial project developed by the association’s sommeliers to promote and showcase the region’s olive oil productions.

The new guide aims to provide a resource for understanding Apulia’s olive-growing heritage, highlighting its cultivars, the sensory characteristics of its oils, and their connection to their places of origin. This initiative recognizes the central role of extra virgin olive oil in the region’s gastronomic culture and promotes a deeper understanding of it through the expertise and sensitivity of AIS sommeliers.

Apulian territories and leading chefs: extra virgin olive oil meets creative cuisine

Among the most significant moments of the 2026 Gala, starting at 8:00 p.m., there will be a gastronomic journey bringing together some of Apulia’s most important territories, paired with the region’s most representative olive cultivars and an equal number of leading local chefs, who will create dishes designed to highlight the distinctive characteristics of Apulian extra virgin olive oils.

Each chef will interpret their own territory by creating a dish designed to form a harmonious pairing with a specific cultivar, bringing together culinary technique, gastronomic sensitivity, and the identity of extra virgin olive oil.

These culinary interpretations will guide the audience on a journey of discovery through Apulia’s rich olive-growing heritage, demonstrating how the characteristics of a cultivar can become a central element in the creation of a dish. This experience goes beyond simple tasting, presenting extra virgin olive oil as an ingredient that embodies identity—one capable of expressing the character of a territory and engaging with the creativity of chefs.

An event celebrating the excellence sector

With the Gala of Excellence, AIS Puglia reaffirms its commitment to promoting the culture of wine and olive oil, creating opportunities for producers, professionals, industry operators, and enthusiasts to meet and exchange ideas.

Through the Vitae 2027 Guide and the new 2027 Guide to Apulian Olive Oil Excellence, the association strengthens its role in promoting regional products and providing informative resources capable of conveying the quality and variety of Apulia’s food and wine heritage.

December 5 will therefore be a day of celebration and sharing, dedicated to all those who, with passion and expertise, help make Apulian wine and extra virgin olive oil ambassadors of the region’s culture and identity.

Event participation fee: €40
Includes tastings of the award-winning wines and oils, as well as dishes prepared by the chefs and paired with regional extra virgin olive oils.
Web: www.sommelierpuglia.it/gala26/