Exploring Sardinia

by Kermit Lynch

Last November with Gail and Anthony, I visited Sardinia for the first time. We landed in Cagliari in the south. So should you. If you are anything like me, you’ll enjoy the pace, the ambience, the quality of life. There are no tourist attractions like the Louvre or the Tour Eiffel, so, no mobs to endure, none of the trash that tourism brings to most of the world’s beautiful sites. It all seemed so civilized—the architecture, the arcades, the boutiques, wine bars, and restaurants. It is an addition to my short list of Places to Retire.

We didn’t discover any great wines near Cagliari, but at the wine bars we tasted several interesting bottles and added more names to our list of domaines to visit.

Next I remember tasting late one evening up in the mountains at about 3,000 feet altitude, searching for the Agriturismo where we were to eat and sleep. It was after ten, dark as could be, and no one around to receive us. Nobody answered the door. Nor the phone. I cussed out loud, which worked. A car drove up. “Buona sera!” Lights, camera, action. A platter of homemade salamis and prosciutto appeared with a pitcher of inky rotgut. Anthony quickly went to the car and grabbed some bottles from the trunk so we had something swallowable with our what-turned-out-to-be delicious home-cooked meal.

We also especially liked Alghero in the northwest—on the Med, population about 45,000, lovely beaches all over the place, and, of all things, a Catalan influence in the oldest part of the town. It turns out the Catalans invaded in the mid-fourteenth century, and their presence is still manifest.

After all is said and done, after all the wines were tasted and spat, we were surprised and excited by some of the wines we encountered in Sardinia. Sardinian wines I’d previously tasted in the United States had led me to believe we’d find some good, inexpensive, fresh-tasting island wines. Summertime wines.
But no, we encountered incredible diversity and certain terroirs capable of producing remarkable wines—for example, Mamoiada in the mountains for Cannonau (aka Grenache), and Gallura for Vermentino. The three domaines we decided to import for you are distinctive from anything you’ve tasted elsewhere because of the terroir, history, an isolation factor, plus the individual touch of our growers. Your palate is going to find it possesses taste buds it didn’t know even existed.

From the September 2017 Newsletter >
Shop our collection of
newly arrived Sardinian wines >

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