Sardinia

In an effort to shed some light on how I study for WSET Diploma Course’s D3 exam, Le Club des Vins is running a series of posts covering wine regions. Today’s topic: Sardinia

📍 Location

Sardinia is located south of Corsica, near the coast of Tuscany.⠀⠀⠀

In a nutshell

Italy
Warm mediterranean climate
Granite, limestone and sandstone to mineral-rich clays and free-draining sands and gravels
Cannonau & vermentino

☁️ Climate

Warm mediterranean climate, but cooling effects include the sea and altitude (Sardinia is hilly). It’s usually quite dry during the growing season, so depending on the location irrigation can be necessary (e.g. in the south east of the island).⠀⠀
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🌋 Soils

It varies from granite, limestone and sandstone to mineral-rich clays and free-draining sands and gravels. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

🍇 Grapes & style

Cannonau, which is the Sardinian name for Grenache, and can be grown anywhere on the island. It’s usually a bit fresher than Grenache, because it’s harvested earlier. There’s a Classico zone in the Nuoro region. Other areas that are known to produce distinctive wines are: Oliena, Jerzu and Capo Ferrato. For whites, it’s all about vermentino here. Vermentino di Sardegna DOC can be grown anywhere on the island, usually a bit dull. If you like Vermentino, look for Vermentino di Gallura DOCG, it’s more concentrated as the max yield is 63 hL/ha (about half of the DOC). The vineyards are located in the north east corner of the island. There’s also a small portion of Carignano (Carignan), mainly grown in the south-west corner of the island. Also, if you like the more obscure grape varieties, Sardegna is the place for you. There’s Torbato, Semidano, Niederra, Nuragus…. Do you know any of them? Some top producers of the island are Argiolas, Sella & Mosca and Cantina Santadi.

💡 Something you didn’t know

OMG who knew: Vernaccia di Oristano is western Sardinia’s answer to SHERRY, according to @jancisrobinson. C-u-r-i-o-u-s!

Your turn now

I always put a new region on instagram first. If you have any additions or comments on a region, please do share. You can drop a comment on instagram or on the website – see below. Your help is much appreciated!