The Cultural Heritage of Mamuthone and Cannonau of Azienda Giuseppe Sedilesu

This month our Italian Food, Wine & Travel group is highlighting the island wines of Italy.  Obviously a broad range as Italy has over 450 islands with some of the largest being Sicily and Sardinia.  There are plenty of wonderful smaller islands to explore that produce wine as well including Capri, Ischia, Elba and more.  I’m taking you to the island of Sardinia, known as Sardegna in Italian.  It is the 2nd largest island in Italy.  I actually brought this wine back from Italy a couple years ago as I was browsing a wine shop in Verona.  Since it was a wine I'd never seen or tried I had to take it home and no better than the present to try it. 

The Winery 

Azienda Giuseppe Sedilesu is situated amongst the Barbagia mountains in the tiny village of Mamoiada.  The winery began 35 years ago from a purchase of 1 hectacre of land by Giuseppe and Grazia Sedilesu and was a venture with their 3 children, whom now manage the winery today.  The winery has grown to 15 hectacres and 95% of their vines are planted to the Cannonau grape with the other 5% a white grape, Granazza. 

The wine had always been sold in bulk on the island, but in 2000 when the children took over they decided to bottle it for the market and doubled their production 10 years later and built new cellars. 

Giuseppe Sedilesu and his wife ~ Copyright of Giuseppe Sedilesu

The Grape 

Cannonau is the most planted grape on the island of Sardinia and is what the Sardinians take great pride in.  If you’re familiar with Grenache then Cannonau comes from the same grape variety, but recent research shows that Cannonau does originate from Sardinia and wasn’t transplanted from Spain where you’re most familiar with Grenache or Garnacha.  It’s a wine that will trick you with its color as its lighter color doesn’t lend to its medium body, rustic, earthy nature rich of red fruits.  It is a wine that is ageworthy.  Some of the best examples can be found in the centrals areas heading east into the Nuoro province in the area of Nepente di Oliena as well as Ogliastra and Oliena.

Copyright of Giuseppe Sedilesu

The Wine 

The wine is named after the mamuthone masks that are used in the masquerade and sacred rituals of the area.  I’m not going to lie that these masks are a little intimidating as they’re paraded through the streets.  Those participating carry 60 pounds of cow bells on their backs to ward off the evil spirits and are covered in black sheepskins with hand-carved wooden black masks upon their face.  Bonfires are lit at night with dancing in the piazzas.  The event takes place January 17th honoring St. Anthony as well as in February during Carnival.  It represents a transition of seasons of winter into spring with the promise of good fortune in the upcoming harvests.  Regardless, it’s a tradition that dates back thousands of years.  

The mamuthone mask of Giuseppe Sedilesu ~ Copyright of Giuseppe Sedilesu

2012 Giuseppe Sedilesu Mamuthone Cannonau di Sardegna DOC 

This is their flagship wine produced from 100% Cannonau and aged 12 months in barrel and at least 3 months in the bottle.   Ruby in color leaning more towards a brick red.  Rich, ripe red fruits on the nose.  The alcohol was apparent on the palate, full bodied and dense with firm tannins and acid with some spice and plenty of blackberries, currants and cherry.  Finishing off with oak and vanilla and some nice length. ABV 15% SRP $27  

Wine pairing: The winery suggests the following as potential wine pairings with Cannnonau “handmade pasta filled with ricotta and herbs, dishes based on sheep meat, vegetables soups, stewed potatoes with legumes and wild herbs, roasted suckling pork, pecorino cheese and the typical cold meats.”  I had intentions to pair this with lamb meatballs with a dash of mint, but unforeseen circumstances this week took over. 

Sardinians are known for living long lives of 90+ years due to their diets and with a healthy dose of Cannonau I’m sure that helps the longevity!

I love this photo featuring the generations involved in the winery ~ Copyright of Giuseppe Sedilesu

Please join my fellow Italian food and wine lovers sharing their Island wines all over Italy.

• Steven from Steven's Wine and Food Blog features Sicilian Pasta con le Sarde Wine Pairing
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass offers From Sardegna to Sicilia by Sea – Two Pairings
• Pinny from Chinese Food and Wine Pairings explores Sicily’s Marsala Wine – A New Product (Wine) Life Cycle that Started in the 18th Century but Continues to Thrive Today!
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla recollects Island Memories, Slow-Roasted Lamb, and Cannonau Di Sardegna.
• Lynn from Savor The Harvest is in the mood for Italian Island Wine Speak with Vinisola
• Cindy from Grape Experiences reveals Discovering Liquid Gold from Sardinia and Sicily at Chicago’s Coda di Volpe.
• Susannah from Avvinare invites readers to Discover Aleatico from the island of Elba.
• Wendy from A Day In the Life on the Farm makes Oven Roasted Salmon with Tarragon Tartar Sauce paired with a Sicilian Grillo.
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares Island Wines of Italy: Alghero Torbato from Sardegna.
• Gwen from Wine Predator features Island Wines of Italy: 3 from Sicily Paired with Pizza.
• Jeff from FoodWineClick! is Dreaming of Italian Islands While We Wait for Spring.
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog tempts with Sardinian Vermentino di Gallura Paired With Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto.
• Nicole from Somm's Table crafts A Passion for Sicily with Passopisciaro: An Interview with Sarah H. Bray, Part 1.
• Jane from Always Ravenous is Tasting and Pairing Sicilian Wine From Mount Etna.
• Cynthia and Pierre tell How a Wine Economists Conference Led Us to Wine from the Venice Lagoon.
• Our hosts Jill and Jason at L'Occasion shares 300 Days of Sunshine’: The Vineyards of Sicilia DOC Interview with Alberto Tasca.

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The Future is Bright for the Wines of Michigan State

Shocking to some, but all 50 states in the U.S. produce wine.  I know I’ve barely touched many of them myself and that is why I was excited to have the opportunity to try a variety of wines from Michigan state last month with the Winestudio program I’m part of.  I’m most familiar with the wines of upstate NY around the Finger Lakes wine region and I could only assume that the climate is similar based on the latitude so they were probably growing some similar grape varietals.  I was rather impressed by the wines I tried and it’s a shame wine regions like Michigan aren’t getting enough publicity and attention that they should be.  Especially when there are 140 wineries to explore in this region.  Hopefully this will open your eyes and palettes to what is available to us as wine consumers. 

Copyright of Michigan Wine Collaborative

The first recorded incident of winemaking goes as far back as 1679 when French explorers found grapevines on Michigan soil.  Commercial winemaking didn’t start though until later in the 1800s.  Within the last decade the acreage dedicated to vines has doubled.  Michigan is also ranked 4th in wine production within the US and in the top 10 of national wine production.  This goes to show you what a vibrant and growing wine community is bursting at the seams.   

Michigan has 5 AVA’s (American Viticultural Area) in order of oldest to newest established appellations including: Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula andTip of the Mitt.

Copyright of Michigan Wine Collaborative

Quite fun and unique names.  These Michigan wine regions benefit from the “lake effect” of Lake Michigan and other surrounding bodies of waters as it helps mitigate the temperatures of the cold winters and the hot days of summer.  

So what types of grapes are being grown in Michigan?  They grow cold hardy grapes along with vinifera grapes, but riesling steals the show along with hybrids.  The most planted grape varieties are riesling, pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot gris, cabernet franc and chambourcin as you'll see below, but there are many others as you’ll see I also tried a gruner veltliner, typical of Austria. 

Copyright of Michigan Wine Collaborative

The Michigan Wine Collaborative established a few years ago supports the growing wine industry in Michigan and brings awareness and support to the wineries and farmers that work tirelessly for the production of these fantastic wines.  It’s no small feat and is important to the economy of Michigan as the wine industry itself generates $5.4 billion annually. 

St. Julian Winery 

Two of the wines I’m sharing from St. Julian is the oldest winery of the region established in 1921 by Mariano Meconi and is today operated by 4th generation family members.  He originally founded Meconi Wine Company in Ontario.  After Prohibition he moved down to Detroit and renamed his company the Italian Wine Company.  Finally in 1936 he settled in to where the winery exists today and is today called the St. Julian Wine Company in the Lake Michigan Shore Appellation. 

2017 Mountain Road Winery Riesling 

This wine had beautiful aromatics of stone fruit and some petrol on the nose.  A crisp and clean wine with balanced acidity and fruit full of peach, tropical fruits, citrus and a hint of tangerine.  Finishing with a nice saltiness on the tongue. SRP $19.99 ABV 12%  This wine went fantastic with some homemade pad thai.

2017 Braganini Reserve Gruner 

The last 15 years St. Julian has been focusing on some single variety wines under the Braganini Reserve label.  These grapes came from the Oxley Family Farms in Lawton, MI whose grapes were originally planted in 1868.  Ed and Phyllis Oxley bought the farm in 1967 and today the 2nd generation of their sons joined them in the family business in the 1990’s.  The gruner veltliner grapes come from the highest point in Van Buren County where the grapes are picked 2 times early morning when the grapes are still cool.  The first picking results in more grassy characteristics where the 2nd picking lends to more tropical notes.   A bright acidity with good citrus, apples and nice salinity, seeming to be a common trait of this wine region that I really enjoyed.  ABV SRP $19.99 

Fenn Valley 

Fenn Valley was established in 1973 south of Holland, MI and is only about 5 miles from Lake Michigan on a sandy ridge built into the hill to take advantage of the natural stable temperatures of the earth.  The Welsch family operates the winery that came over from Michigan operating in their 3rd generation. The first grapes were planted in 1974 and the winery is always experimenting with what grows best.   the originally were growing hybrids like chancellor, syval, vignoles, vidal and foch.  A couple years later they planted vinifera grapes like riesling, chardonnay and gewurztraminer.  Following years they planted pinot gris, pinot noir and cab franc occupying 90 acres of vineyards today. 

2017 Fenn Valley Pinot Grigio 

A pale straw color.  Aromatic with plenty of citrus.  A delicate, light, crisp wine filled with lemon citrus and pear.  A nicely balanced wine with salinity on the finish.  ABV 12% AVV $14 

Amoritas Vineyards 

Located on the Leelanau Peninsula Amoritas Vineyards is operated by the Goodell family. The winery was named after the original homestead and Amore family that occupied the residence as well as Amore Road where the winery is based.  Occupying 13 acres of vines all grapes are estate grown.   The family’s vision is to produce clean, delicate and delicious wines.       

2016 Amoritas Vineyards Chardonnay 

Almost clear in a color with a tinge of straw yellow the wine gives way to a lemon citrus nose with grassiness and pineapple notes.  A light, crisp wine filled with juicy ripe apples and tropical fruits.  ABV 11.5% SRP $21 I tried this pairing out with some quesadillas for an easy weeknight meal that went together just great.

Chateau Chantal 

Located on the Old Mission Peninsula Chateau Chantal is winery you can actually stay as they operate a B&B onsite and based on their pictures of the winery online the views are gorgeous.  The Begin family has quite an interesting history with their previous careers as a Catholic priest and Felician nun.   They married in 1974 and followed Robert’s dream of opening their French European chateau style property that was completed in 1993.  

2016 Chateau Chantal Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay  

Sourced from 30+ year old vines this is a barrel fermented wine aged 9 months in French and American oak adding a creaminess to the wine with vanilla notes alongside melon, citrus and green apples. ABV 14% SRP $30

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own.