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Sardinia (Sardegna to its Italian-speaking inhabitants) is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea, situated a considerable distance off the west coast of mainland Italy. Like Corsica, immediately to the north, the island has belonged to various empires and kingdoms over the centuries, and its culture reflects this unsettled history. Sardinia is more politically stable now, however, having been part of Italy since the middle of the 18th century.
The closest mainland wine regions to Sardinia are Tuscany and Lazio, 125 miles (200km) away, while Italy's other island region, Sicily, is 185 miles (300km) to the south-east. The distance between Sardinia and the other Italian regions has led to the island developing its own distinct culture and identity. It remains one of Italy's five autonomous regions: the others are Sicily, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol and Aosta Valley.
The separation between Sardinia and mainland Italy is reflected in the island's relationship with wine; wine is not a historic part of the culture as it has been in Italy, which the ancient Greeks named Enotria (The Land of Wine). To the wine-trained eye, the cultural gap is clearly demonstrated in the grape varieties most commonly used in Sardinia's wines. The portfolio of varieties planted in Sardinian vineyards and used in wines (uvaggio in Italian or encepagement in French) bears little resemblance to those in any other Italian wine region. Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Barbera and Trebbiano are almost nowhere to be seen on the island, and instead there are varieties with stronger French and Spanish origins: Cannonau (a clone of Grenache), Carignan (called Carignano here), Cabernet Sauvignon and Bobal are some of the most commonly found. Malvasia and Vermentino are present here, flying the Italian flag, but even Vermentino can only just be considered an 'Italian' grape variety: it is more widely planted in Corsica and southern France than in its Ligurian homeland. Muscat (in the form of Moscato Bianco), seemingly present in every warm-climate wine region known to man, is also grown in Sardinia's vineyards. It even has its own Moscato di Cagliari and Moscato di Sorso-Sennori DOCs, as well as a generic Moscato di Sardegna title which covers the whole island.
Aside from the better-known grape varieties mentioned above, the island makes use of several obscure and fairly exclusive varieties, including Torbato, Semidano, Niederra, Nuragus, Monica and Nasco. The latter three are showcased in their own varietal DOCs, all from Cagliari.
Viticulture is a minority enterprise in Sardinia, despite generous financial incentives from the Italian government – wine was not traditionally drunk on the island, and it was introduced for business rather than cultural reasons. Only a small percentage of the island's land is given over to vines and there seems to be little drive to capitalize on the island's naturally vine-friendly terroir. That said, some producers are creating high-quality Sardinian wines, and these are slowly being recognized on a wider scale as the average wine consumer's curiosity increases. Italian wine authorities are clearly willing to recognize and develop the island's wine potential; despite having the lowest wine production per hectare of any Italian wine region, Sardinia has more DOCs than Calabria and Basilicata combined. There is even a DOCG here, Vermentino di Gallura DOCG, and more than 15 IGT titles.
The majority of Sardinian vineyards lie in the west of the region, which is also where the more location-specific DOCs are found. They line the west coast, running from south to north: Carignano del Sulcis, Vernaccia di Oristano, Malvasia di Bosa and Alghero. Even the large Cagliari DOC, which covers a good proportion of the island's southern half, is strongly biased towards the west coast. The exception to this westerly lean is Vermentino di Gallura DOCG, whose catchment area covers the island's north-eastern corner.
The terroir of Sardinia is full of promise for hopeful vineyardists. The combination of hills and plains, coastal regions and inland areas offers useful topographical diversity and mesoclimatic variation, which are vital for effective viticulture. To further these benefits, the available soils and bedrocks vary from granite, limestone and sandstone to mineral-rich clays and free-draining sands and gravels. Located between 38 and 41 degrees north, the island is among the most equatorial of European wine regions. Thanks to the cooling effects of the Mediterranean Sea, the maritime climate here is more forgiving than in other regions at this latitude (Turkey and northern Iran).
Whether or not Sardinian wine finds its way into the annals of the wine world depends on various factors: the ebb and flow of world wine markets, the efficacy of Italian wine bureaucracy and marketing, and the ever-changing tastes and interests of the modern wine consumer.
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