Vermentino

The Vermentino vine is well-known and grown more or less intensely in all coastal areas of the Mediterranean, from Spain to Liguria and the islands off these coasts, Corsica and Sardinia. It is also grown in small areas on the island of Madeira and in some places in southern France. Its origins are certainly Spanish and it seems that it was brought from Spain to Corsica some time in the 14th century and from there to Liguria. Its ideal habitat is Sardinia, even if its appearance on the island is very recent and can be dated back to the final decades of the last century, with the first vines being planted in Gallura, on the northernmost tip of the island. From Gallura, Vermentino has spread to all of Sardinia's main wine-growing areas and mainly to the provinces of Sassari and Cagliari. Traditionally, vines are trained using the alberello sardo system with 3-4 renewal spurs.

Cannonau
According to some experts, the Cannonau vine has been grown since the period of the nuraghi (Neolithic) and this has been shown by Cannonau grape seedsfound inside a nuraghe and dated back to 1200 B.C. Others maintain that it is a modification of the Canonazo of Seville, the Granaxa of Aragon or even of the Alicante brought to Sardinia by the Jesuits. It is certainly the island's most famous wine and it is grown practically all over the island. In spite of the fact that this vine is so widespread, the actual amount of Cannonau wine produced is quite limited on account of the widely used practice of short pruning on vines trained using the alberello system; this drastically cuts production, which is reduced to as little as 30-40 quintals per hectare. Traditionally vines are trained using the alberello or low espalier systems.

Monica
The Monica red variety is one of the oldest vines in Sardinia. Its origins are disputed: one of the most probable theories is that it arrived in Sardinia in the 11th century, when the Camaldolite monks began to cultivate the lands around their monasteries, giving the grape its name.
It is used on its own to produce the DOC wine of the same name, Monica di SardegnaThe vines are trained using the classic latin alberello system.

Cannonau
This vine, introduced into Spain in the 12th century, spread through southern France and northern Africa, but the most credible opinion as to its origins is that they date back to the Phoenicians who, in ancient times, grew this wine in their colonies in Sardinia. It is typically produced in the south of the island, where the vine has flourished, thanks to its particular resistance to the salty winds from the sea. The vines are trained using the traditional alberello or low espalier systems.

Bovale
The ideal habitat for the Bovale Sardo vine is the central-southern part of the island. This variety was brought to the island by the Aragonese and, although destroyed by the phylloxera epidemic in the latter half of the 19th century, thanks to its ability to adapt, ithas regained its natural levels of productivity. It has always been used for mixed vintages thanks to its particular concentration and today it is quite a rare vine. For some years now, our company has been proceeding with a project to recuperate and valorise this vine, which is best trained using the traditional alberello sardo method.

Nuragus
The origins of the Nuragus variety go back to the dawn of time and it is most certainly one of the first vines to have been brought to Sardinia, most probably by the Phoenician sailors who founded the city of Nora, the ruins of which are located on the southern borders of the Campidano plain. This theory is based both on the name (the prefix "nur" derives from Phoenician), and on the area in which the vine is grown, which is limited to the plains behind the Phoenicians' landing point.
Its high production capacity has given it numerous names: "vitis abundans", "Axina de pòberus", "Axina de margiani", and "Axina scacciadèppidus" (poor man's grape or debt-beater). One of the most accredited theoriesis that it is a native variety. his vine is trained using the traditional alberello or low espalier systems.

Nasco
The Nasco white grape has been grown in Sardinia since time immemorial. Acerbi called it "nuscu", and Moris referred to it as vitis amabilis or nascu. This latter name became widely used in the vernacular and it was also recorded by Cettolini, together with other synonyms in dialect, including resu and ogu de arrana. Both Mameli and Acerbi state that the name of this vine is derived from the Latin muscus or musky, due to the unmistakable scent of the wine if aged for a few years and of which the term in dialect, "nascu" would seem to be derived.
If this theory is taken as being correct, then it may be thought that Nasco was already present on the island during Roman times or that it was at least introduced by the Romans. Even the fact that its spread was limited to the inland areas around the port of Karalis leads us to presume that it arrived on the island in ancient times, via this landing place, in the same way as some other vines that are characteristic of Sardinia.It is found exclusively in the Campidano plain area above Cagliari and in particular, in the districts of Quartu, Maracalagonis, Dolianova, Selargius, Sinnai, Soleminis, and Serdiana.

Malvasia
The origins of the Malvasia sarda vine date back to the Byzantine period and it certainly arrived in Sardinia via the ports of Karalis and Bosa; in fact, it is mostly found in the Campidano plain above Cagliari and the hills of Planargia. All experts in Sardinian wines agree that there is a marked difference between the Malvasia made in the Cagliari area and that made in Bosa - a difference that is certainly not totally attributable to the different pedoclimatic conditions - which goes to confirm the existence of two different clones of a single variety that arrived in the two different areas of Sardinia. The vines are trained using the traditional low espalier or alberello systems.