Sardinia: Sun, Sea, Sand and Alluring Wines

Of Italy’s two main island regions, it is undoubtedly Sicily that has grabbed the lion’s share of the wine spotlight over the last twenty years. But Sardinia’s many exceptional wines clearly deserve more attention. Sardinia’s lack of large, moneyed estates, often owned by noble families, that characterize Sicily’s vinous landscape has hurt the smaller island in the communications and public relations arena. But the fact remains that Sardinia offers oenophiles a treasure trove of exciting wines.

Based on the latest available data, Sardinia produced roughly 650,000 hectoliters of wine in 2013, an increase not just on Sardinia’s 2012s production volume (+27%) but also on the 2012 countrywide average (+18%). Interestingly, Sardinian wine production has been increasing steadily of late, by an average of 23% annually over the 2008 to 2012 period as compared to a much more moderate 7% for Italy as a whole. Sardinia produces white and red wine in roughly equal volume. Furthermore, the island has always been a mecca for sweet wine production. Sardinia’s penchant for red wine production should not come as a surprise given that the regional cuisine boasts a wide range of generally hearty meat preparations in addition to its many delicate fish dishes.

Sardinia’s most popular wine is also the island’s only DOCG, Vermentino di Gallura. At roughly 42,000 hectoliters per hectare produced each year, it’s the island’s third most important wine in terms of quantity. Vermentino di Sardegna DOC (at roughly 95,000 hectoliters per hectare) sits at the number two position in yearly volume, so it is obvious that Vermentino is Sardinia’s most visible wine, even if the island offers a plethora of other interesting and unique white wines, too often made in distressingly small quantities. But Sardinia’s leader in terms of volume (at roughly 105,000 hectoliters per year) has long been Cannonau di Sardegna.

The vineyards at Vini Contini

Beyond Vermentino and Cannonau…

Sardinia’s most important white grapes are the aforementioned Vermentino (the Rolle or Malvoisie Gros Grains of France and Spain), Nasco (a very old variety that gives lovely dry and sweet wines with musky notes), Nuragus (a rustic, hardy variety whose wines of typically show a resiny quality), Semidano (unfortunately on the decline owing to its low productivity, but the source of Sardinia’s most refined white wine), Vernaccia di Oristano (completely unrelated to Italy’s other well-known Vernaccia grapes, it gives Sherry-like wines with an oxidative twist) and Malvasia di Sardegna, which, like Nasco, is used to make both excellent dry and sweet wines.

In addition to Cannonau (a local variant of Grenache), red grapes common to Sardinia include Carignano (the Carignan of France and Spain), but there are also small plantings of Cagnulari (which yields midweight, highly perfumed wines), Bovale Sardo (a sturdy, blending grape), Girò (increasingly rare but lovely delicate, perfumed sweet red wines), Monica (delicious midweight wines) and Nieddera (the most perfumed of all of the island’s reds, it is also used to make lovely rosato wines). Nebbiolo lovers will be surprised to know that Sardinia is one of the few places where this noble variety also grows successfully. Wines sporting the Colli della Limbara denominazione are made mainly with this northwestern Italian native.