Cannonau di Sardegna with Sardus Pater

Who is ready for some wines from Sardinia, in Italian as Sardegna?  First time covering this region on Vino Travels so let’s get started.   If I say Cannonau do you know what it is?  You might be surprised you may be familiar with it because Cannonau is a red grape also known as Grenache or Garnacha.  And to think you may have overlooked it in the store wondering what is Cannonau?  That’s what this blog is all about and glad you’re here.

Sardinia, Tharros Beach by Chris

Sardus Pater, founded in 1949 and meaning “Father of Sardinians”, is a wine cooperative comprised of over a couple hundred members located on the region and island of Sardinia, west of Italy.  Sardus Pater is actually specifically located on an even smaller island part of Sardinia, but to the west, called Sant’Antiocco.  The island of Sardinia is surrounded  mostly by the  Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean Seas and is the 2^nd largest island in Italy next to Sicily.   

I recently tasted the 2012 Sardus Pater Foras Cannonau di Sardegna with their export manager, Antonio Cabibi, at the Grand Portfolio tasting with Masciarelli in Boston.  I had fun with this tasting as they had a lot of grapes that folks aren’t super familiar with.  Cannonau is a widely grown grape in this wine region of Sardinia.    There is a DOC in Sardinia named the Cannonau di Sardegna D.O.C.  The 2012 Sardus Pater Foras Cannonau di Sardegna is a full-bodied balanced with rich fruit on the nose and palate along with some sweet spiciness and some notes of vanilla.  I enjoyed the mild tannins and pretty nice finish.    

A wine to seek out from Sardus Pater that is one of their prized wines is the Carignano del Sulcis.  It’s made from the Carignano grape on vines that are around 80 years old. 

There was a book written by Dan Buettner called “Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest” and in this book the Sardinian people and culture are one of the groups mentioned.   Maybe it’s because of the Cannonau grape?  Find out for yourself.  One of the very few regions I have been too so would love to hear about your travels there.

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