In learning about Italian wine, I love to share the undiscovered areas and grapes, but it is just as important to talk about the regions and grapes that make a region what it is known for. In Sardinia that grape is Cannonau. If you’ve never had wines from Sardinia the Cannonaugrape is a great place to start. It’s the most accessible wine on the market and makes up about 30% of the island’s production with one in every 5 bottles produced from Cannonau.
The Cannonau grape was believed to have originated in Spain and brought to Sardinia by the Aragonese in the 1300s. Although, due to further archaeological studies, there have been 3,200-year-oldCannonau seeds found making it native to Sardinia instead. This would also make it one of the oldest grapes in the Mediterranean.
Sourced from Tenute Soletta
Cannonau, pronounced cannon-now, is also genetically tied to Garnacha in Spain and Grenache in France. This late ripening, thin-skinned grape creates deeply colored wines that are full-bodied with medium to high alcohol. It displays ample red fruits (strawberries and raspberries) along with some spice and white pepper. Cannonau can be made as a single variety or used in a blend. Depending on where the wine originates from, you can get an array of styles from fruity wines to those with depth, richness and spicy notes.
Sourced from Wikipedia - Nuoro province
The majority of the Cannonau vineyards are in the center of Sardinia along the eastern coastline. Some of the best expressions of Cannonau come from the Nuoro province including the areas of Oliena and Jerzu, which make up 70% of the production. There is also the area of Capo Ferrato in the South Sardinia province in the southern east corner worth seeking out.
We keep off April with our Italian Food, Wine & Travel
group covering the regions of Calabria and Sardinia. Our host, Katarina of Grapevine Adventures,
has provided a preview into these regions.
I’ll be starting off the month with Antonella Corda of Sardinia, 5th
generation of wine growers, whom hails from the respected Argiolas family.
Antonella inherited her family business in 2010. Her grandfather, Antonio Argiolas, was the
first to import modern technology to the island of Sardinia after his travels
to California. She grew up around
vineyards since she was a young child and later studied at the University of
Sassari to become an agronomist with further studies to obtain a master
qualification in wine management from the respected Edmund Mach Foundation in
the Trentino-Alto Adige region of northern Italy. Her parents have been a strong influence with
her mother’s teachings of the wine begins in the soil driving a sense of love
for the land and her fathers passion for the business.
Antonella’s winery is located in Serdiana in the southern
part of Sardinia about 12 miles north of Cagliari in the lower Campodiano. This territory is rich in vineyards, olives
and grain production. Antonella’s
property spans close to a 100 acres with 37 acres dedicated to vines, 30 acres
of olive groves and the rest land cultivated for crop rotation. She has 2 vineyard sites, Mitza Manna and
Mitsa S’ollastu. Mitza Manna was her
grandfather’s favorite vineyard about 650 feet above sea level with 15 acres of
soils consisting of sandy, clay, calcium and loam. The vines consist of Vermentino and Nuraga
white grapes. The 24 acres at Mitsa
S’ollastu border the town of Ussana and are dedicated to Vermentino and
Cannonau grapes on a bed of the river consisting mostly of pebbles with some
sand, clay and loam.
I love this quote from Antonella’s website, “loving the land means showing the same
respect you will have for your mother”.
I feel this exudes her love and respect for the land and will allow her
to continue her passion and hopefully pass it on for generations. Her hard work and dedication to carry out the
family’s legacy was recognized in 2019 by the Gambero Rosso when she received
the “Emerging Winery of the Year”.
I was able to connect with Antonella to ask some further
questions to understand more about the land, her style and what is in store for
Antonella Corda.
1.What
have been some of your biggest challenges since you started making wine? There have been several heterogeneous
challenges. Since I manage a small company, I came across situations being
completely different from one another. The biggest challenge has been the
weather in 2018, an extremely difficult vintage. The heavy rains resulted in
troubles for the vineyard, which was being turned organic during that period,
pointing out the difficulties these climate changes can cause.
2.What
drove you to become organic? A rational approach drove me towards a
sustainable way, which for the vineyards translates into organic. Since the
beginning, it was clear that the organic allowed us to take more care of the
environment and to make healthier wines, as a true expression of their area of
origin.
3.What's
unique about this area of Serdiana where you grow your grapes? The area of Serdiana is peculiar for its deep
soils where sandstone marls provide wines with freshness and elegance.
Serdiana’s elegant wines stand out for their sapidity and the typical scents of
the Mediterranean scrub.
4.How
would you describe your style of winemaking? A respectful style towards the grape and its
origin, authentic winemaking aimed at preserving the scents of indigenous grape
varieties, seen as expressions of Serdiana.
5.Who is your
mentor and whom do you admire in the industry? I don’t have a mentor, I can just think of
different people I met during these years. In the hardest times I think about
my grandad Antonio Argiolas’s approach towards work and people and my grandmum
Evangela Zuddas’s strength, a widow who managed a company on her own in harder
times.
6.What
made you choose the Nuraga grape to work with? The Nuragus grape is one of the oldest
indigenous grape varieties. It was the most important white grape in our area
and in South Sardinia as well. We’re now rediscovering it and its modernity due
to its relevant freshness and low alcohol content. At the beginning, it was my
mother who told me about wonderful Nuragus growing in that area.
7.I
noticed there was some Syrah in the 2021 Cannonau bottle. Do you grow
this grape as well? Yes, we grow Syrah too, a small percentage in
the vineyard gathered together with Cannonau to make a blend not hiding, but
rather highlighting the characteristics of Cannonau.
8.What's
next for you and the winery? The winery is relatively young, and I reckon
some important objectives have been achieved, but I would like to invest in
hospitality and make people smell the area scents holding a glass.
The Wines
I had the fortune of sampling some of Antonella Corda’s wonderful
wines. The 2021 Antonella Corda
Cannonau di Sardegna DOC is made of 90% Cannonau and 10% Syrah. In the 2016 vintage this wine won the
esteemed Tre Bicchieri. Vinified in
stainless steel and spending 6 months of aging in stainless steel and
non-toasted barrique. The wine was
translucent and lightly ruby colored.
Inviting aromas of cherry and raspberries with a touch of white
pepper. This wine was medium-bodied with
juicy red fruit flavors filling the palate with a touch of spice. I found this
wine very approachable and not as heavy as some other Cannonau I have
previously tried. I could picture this
with a slight chill as the days slowly begin to become warmer here in New
England. ABV14.5% SRP $32.99
The 2022 Antonella Corda Vermentino di Sardegna DOC is made
from 100% Vermentino. The grapes are
hand harvested and vinified 6 months in steel tanks on the yeast. The wine was pale straw colored with greenish
hues. A fragrant nose with grassy
aromas, grapefruit, lemon and some tropical notes. Almost reminded me of a New Zealand Sauvignon
Blanc. A mouthwatering acidity up front
that carried throughout. Crisp with minerality
and orange and lemon citrus flavors. A little
warmth on the throat with the fruit lingering through the finish that softened
the palate. ABV 14% SRP $24.99
The 2020 Antonella Corda Ziru Isola dei Nuraghi IGT is naturally
unfiltered and made from Vermentino grapes that are fermented on the skins and
vinified and aged in amphora. The name
Ziru is the ancient local name for the jars that stored oil and wine. Straw colored, the aromas were floral, but
less intense than the prior wine. It had
richer more tropical notes with some vanilla nuances. The medium-bodied wine had a palate that was balanced
and round with persistent tropical notes.
A savory wine with a silky/oily texture.ABV 14% SRP $45
Thirsty for more on Calabria and Sardinia? Read more from our fellow food and Italian wine lovers. You can also join us live on Twitter this Saturday at 11am EST @ #ItalianFWT. Hope to see you there!
Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm reports about Planning a “Trip to France with our Son from Germany while Sipping a Wine from Sardegna”
Gwendolyn from Wine Predator shares “On Italian Island Time: Vermentino and Cannonau di Sardegna with Pecorino and Fish Stew”
Camilla from Culinary Cam cooks “Mirto di Sardenga-Kissed Braised Ribs”
Cindy from Grape Experiences shares “Spring in Sardinia: Surrau “Branu” Vermentino Di Gallura DOCG with Spaghetti con le Vongole (Spaghetti and Clams)”
Andrea from The Quirky Cork is “Exploring Sardegna through Vermentino & Monica”
Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles features “Monica and Fregola – a bit of Sardegna at the table”
Your host Katarina from Grapevine Adventures shares about “Two
Authentic Expressions of Native Grapes from Calabria and Sardinia”
Importer: Shiverick Imports
*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are all my own.
Sardinia is Italy’s 2nd largest island located off the western coast of Italy separated by the Tyrhhenian Sea. Today our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group (#ItalianFWT) is led by Jill Barth of L’Occasion as we highlight the wines and food of Sardinia, called Sardegna in Italian.
Sardinia is one of the few regions I have yet to explore in Italy and I’m not sure why. It has a rugged, mountainous interior with forests and scrub covered land. It also has about 1,200 miles of coastline, some jagged, but the rest with beautiful beaches and blue-greenish crystal waters. Some years ago I attended a wine tasting and luncheon hosted by Susannah of this group and Vigne Surrau. I had the chance to taste through a number of their wines and meet the owner Martino Demuro alongside some pairings at a Boston restaurant. I recently picked up a bottle I wasn’t familiar with of theirs, a 2020 SurrauNaracuCannonau di Sardegna DOC, so I’ll be sharingthat today along with some more information on Vigne Surrau.
The Winery ~ VigneSurrau
Vigne Surrau was established back in 2001 by the Demuro family whom are native Sardinians. One of the twelve siblings, Tino, purchased vineyards in Arzachena at that time and began producing wines. They own 148 acres across 8 different locations in the northeastern corner of Sardinia. The winery is named after the Surrau Valley in which it is located between the comunes of Palau and Arzachena, which is located right in the heart of Gallura. The Gallura area of Sardinia is well known for its Vermentino, which is the only DOCG in Sardinia. Vigne Surrau’s production is 70% made of Vermentino since this area shows the best expression of this grape on the island. They are also only a 15 minute drive from the Emerald Coast, or the Costa Smeralda.
Copyright of Vigne Surrau
The Wine
The 2020 SurrauNaracuCannonau di Sardegna DOC is made up of 100% Cannonau. Under the Cannonau di Sardegna DOC the wines must have a minimum of 90% Cannonau with up to 10% of local red grapes. Cannonau is also known as Grenache in France and Alicante or Garnacha in Spain. It is the primary red grape of Sardinia that is high in antioxidants including polyphenols and anthocyanins. It may be part of the reason the Sardinian population has a life span of 90-100 years old. Sunshine, great food and wine rich in antioxidants!
Surrau’sNaracu, is named after the Nuraghe, which are ancient stone fortresses that are found all throughout the island. The vines are located in sandy soils of granite origin, typical of this part of Sardinia. The wine spends 6 months in stainless steel with an additional 3 months in the bottle. The wine was ruby in color with some transparency. The aromas reminded of a combination of raspberry and blueberry jam with a hint of spice. A dry, medium-bodied with moderate tannins. Juicy blackberries filled the palate with a hint of sweet tobacco that lingered on with a lengthy finish ending with finesse.
The Nuraghe - sourced by Wikipedia copyright of Jack Aubrey
It’s been a crazy few weeks with the kids going back to school, sports starting and my normal routine all a fluster. I wanted to pair this wine with a Sardinian dish, but time and planning has been lacking these days. Although, there wasn’t anything wrong with my chosen dish of a Tuscan chicken and pasta dish with sundried tomatoes. I meant to throw in spinach, but realized I forgot to pick it up so I did throw in a side of fresh green beans with this lovely oil I so graciously received from my trip to Firriato in Sicily.
What are your personal Sardinian favorite wines or dishes?
Join our fellow Italian food and wine friends as they share their Sardinian wines and food pairings. Catch us live on Twitter this Saturday at 11am EST @ #ItalianFWT. See you there! Ci vediamo!
Learn about the Italian island wine that has been called 'Sardinian Sherry’ in a republication of Rare Wines From Sardinia And Sicily Are Complex And Historic here on l’occasion
