The island of Sardinia is located off the western coast of mainland Italy and is surrounded by some of the world's greatest wine producing regions. It stands to reason that Sardinia is also a source of terrific wines. However, these wines are not as well-known as some of their neighbor's wines.
With Tuscany to the east, Spain to the west and France and Corsica to the north, there is a lot of competition among these regions to capture the hearts and palates of people worldwide. Not to mention the competition within the country of Italy itself.
What distinguishes Sardinia from the other regions is its native grape varietals. Though they have imported some traditional varietals from France, Spain and Italy, Vermentino (white) and Cannanou (red) take center stage here. They produce food friendly wines designed to compliment the island's cuisine.
Its proximity to the surrounding seas, and the nature of the soils, makes Vermentino an excellent companion to shell fish and other sea food. At the same time, with the largest population of sheep per square kilometer in the world, Cannanou is a perfect match to lamb in all its forms.
Sardinia also has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world. It shares with Okinawa, the highest rate of centenarians in the world at 22 for every 100,000 citizens. Now called "Blue Zones", a lot of research is going in to the life styles and eating habits of these populations to understand why this is so.
If you watch and follow Dr. Oz, you will know that he attributes the grape varietal, Cannanou, with this higher life expectancy. Despite being known as, and genetically identical, to Grenache in other parts of the world, Dr. Oz suggests that Sardinia's version has a higher concentration of the beneficial effects of the grape.
The most widely known wineries on the island are Argiolas and Sella & Mosca. Argiolas makes a beautiful wine it calls "Costamolino" from the Vermentino grape. Sella & Mosca's Cannanou was awarded a 91 point score from the popular wine critic, Robert Parker. Both of these wines retail in the $16.00-$18.00 range and are available in most fine wine shops. If not, message me here and I'll let you know where to find it.
