After Sicily is the second largest Mediterranean island and can be too easily overlooked or lumped-in with the wines of Sicily and southern Italy, instead of being considered as a separate wine region. The whites of Vermentino are fairly well-known, but many of the red Sardinian wines too are worth considering.
Lying in the Tyrrhenian Sea and with its northernmost part roughly at the height of mainland Naples, Sardinia is fairly distinct from the other five southern areas. It is hotter even than Tuscany , and produces strong distinct flavoured wines.Sardinia has produced wine since the time of the Phoenicians, a good thousand years before Christ. Since then it has been invaded and influenced by many other different wine cultures. The Romans were there over 200 years BC; followed later by Byzantines and then the Spaniards from 1324 and for four hundred years that followed.
The white Vermentino may be among the best-known of the varieties, but, for example, the Vermentino di Gallura in the north of the country, can claim quite a distinctive flavour of its own compared with Vermentino grown elsewhere in Italy.
Some historians say that many of the grapes in Sardinia are of English origin, but other research establish that Sardinian varieties are totally different. Native varieties include the Nuragus and the Sardinian version of Vernaccia .
The red Cannonau di Sardegna is by far the biggest contributor to the Sardinian wine market.
It is rich in other DOC varieties, which include the red Girò and Monica , and the whites Nasco and Malvasia - most carrying that extra denomination of 'di Cagliari'.
There followed an old-gold or amber-coloured Nasco di Cagliari , at a full-bodied 14.5%. This had a determined aroma, strong and musty, with a hint of honey.
And don't forget an excellent 15% Vernaccia di Oristano : this is a true dessert almost sherry-like wine, made from a single grape variety, with a minimum age of 2 years in wood, which allows the formation of a yeast film during its maturing.
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