Sardinia

Island and wine-growing region off the coast of Italy (Italian: Sardegna) with the capital of Cagliari, it has a total vineyard area of 43.331 hectares. In geological terms, the island was connected to the mainland of Italy in ancient times, and is the oldest part of Italy. It is divided into four provinces, Sassari in the north-west, Oristano in the west, Cagliari in the south and Nuoro in the east. More than 3.000 years ago, the inhabitants of Sardinia dragged huge rocks to the places where they lived, worked o nthe m with primitive tools, and laid them one on top of the other in layers. These piles of stones are spread all over the island, they are known as “Nuraghi“, and are symbolic of Saridinia, they also gave their name to the indigenous white grape variety Nuragus. Vines were cultivated on Sardinia in the 9th century BC, the vine was introduced by the Phoenicians. The course of history saw many changes of rulers here, from the Carthaginians to the Romans, Vandals, Byzantine rulers, muslims, Pisans and Genoans, all added their character to the wide range of viticulture practised. The Spanish, in particular, introduced many grape varieties from the 13th century onward, this influenced the range of grape varieties planted here, as well as the style of the wines, over a period of centuries. In the past, mainly grape varieties of Spanish origin were used to produce mainly alcoholic dessert wines made in the style of sherry, port or Madeira wine. Even today, fortified and therefore alcoholic sweet liquorosos traditionally make up a large part of the production.

85% of Saridinia is hilly with high plateaus, vines are grown primarily in the gently hilly Campidano plain between Cagliari and Oristano, as well as in the Alghero plain. The southerly location in the Mediterranean ensures there is ample sunshine. Particularly on the south coast there are also areas prone to drought, so irrigation is encouraged. The temperatures vary considerably in the various parts of the island. The north is cooler, and produces mainly fresh, fruity white wines; the south and west of the island provides various mesoclimates with good conditions for red, white and dessert wines. The permitted yields are fairly high. Production is dominated by the large co-operatives, the largest winery is Sella-Mosca, with a total vienyard area of more than 500 hectares. Red wines make up two thirds of production, the remainder is made up of white wines, they all tend to have higher alcohol levels than in other parts of Italy. The most widely planted white grape variety is the indigenous Nuragus, with a third of the vineyard area, followed by Vermentino, Malvasia Sardegna, Nasco and Semidano. The most widely planted red varieties are Cannonau (Grenache), Monica, Carignano, Bovale and Girò. Particularly on the plains, the vines are still pruned in the traditional Alberello shape (see there under gobelet). There are 20 DOC zones, these are:

* Alghero
* Arborea
* Campidano di Terralba
* Cannonau di Sardegna
* Carignano del Sulcis
* Girò di Cagliari
* Malvasia di Bosa
* Malvasia di Cagliari
* Mandrolisai
* Monica di Cagliari
* Monica di Sardegna
* Moscato di Cagliari
* Moscato di Sardegna
* Moscato di Sorso-Sennori
* Nasco di Cagliari
* Nuragus di Cagliari
* Sardegna Semidano
* Vermentino di Gallura (DOCG)
* Vermentino di Sardegna
* Vernaccia di Oristano