Noci is milk country: Murgia dairies daily turn the work of the farm estates into mozzarellas, caciocavallo cheeses and ricottas supplying half of Puglia. The sweet tradition adds Christmas "pettole" fritters and the taralli that accompany every glass.
The moment of grace is November, when "Bacco nelle gnostre" opens the old town's courtyards to new wine and roast chestnuts: the whole village becomes one table under the stars — the right doorway into Murgian cooking.