Cannonau di Sardegna
A Sardinian Wine

Cannonau di Sardegna is a symbol of the beautiful Italian wine region of Sardinia.

When I lived in England I would often hear my dad proudly mention the Cannonau wine, especially the one made in the winery of his home town Jerzu.

I only found out this year that he actually worked in the Jerzu winery before immigrating to England.

When my dad comes to visit, the first thing he looks for sitting at the table is the bottle of Cannonau di Sardegna to pair with his favourite spit roasted meat...goat!

Well! You’ve guessed it by now, my dad does like his wine (why on earth he never took up wine tasting professionally I don’t know!)

One of the things my dad puts on his 'to do list' is go visit the winery in Jerzu Antiche Poderi to pick up what he calls the best Italian wine...Cannonau

Which one? The crème of the crops of course... Josto Miglior Cannonau di Sardegna D.O.C

Why? I asked him once why out of all the types of red wine he chose this particular bottle of Cannonau di Sardegna.

His answer was quite simple- “It is the nostalgic flavour of my "Terra Sarda!”

So, I decided to take a closer look at this Sardinian wine and find out why my dad rated it so much (and not only!)

• Only the  finest quality grapes of the varietal Cannonau grapes are selected with care.

• From the best vineyards, which means they are located on higher hillsides in the district of Jerzu and to be selected the are at least 20 years old.

• A limited harvest ensures the quality of the grapes and in the case of this fine Sardinian wine only 2 to 2.5 kg  are consented per vine.

• The grapes are carefully hand picked and placed into small crates that are easily stackable for transportation. This procedure ensures  the grapes arrive at the winery as integrate as possible.

• When the grapes arrive at the winery they undergo various test (now this bit gets very technical... but I will that to other’s) all I will say is that grapes undergo another selection after the results of various tests before beginning the wine making procedure.

Josto Miglior Cannonau di Sardegna D.O.C is also Riserva, which means that it has aged for at least 2 years.

The particularity of this type of red wine, is that the aging process is done in small (200 litres max) toasted oak barrels also know as barrique's.

Aging in these barrels is what gives this wine the distinct scent of vanilla and cinnamon. These barrels don't come cheap and to ensure the full potential of the distinct flavour that distinguishes this Sardinian wine, the barrels are changed every 5 years.

After my investigations, I realised just how many rules and regulations and careful preparation is involved to produce this fine Sardinian red wine.  

Josto Miglior is a prestigious Sardinian wine but there are many more excellent wines to choose from not only in the Province of Ogliastra but in the whole of Sardinia.

Ok, so you want to find out for yourself why my dad rates this fine red juice so much?

Well I’m afraid the winery Jerzu Antichi Poderi, do not have an online shop.

But they do do mail orders, the only thing is that I know for defnite that is is not possible for them to send wine to the UK and USA, for these destinations see "Cannonau Wine in the USA, UK".

You can contact the winery in Jerzu using the safe contact form for information about buying wine and even to book tours to the winery if you are visting the Island.

Franco is my next door neighbour and will take good care of you.

He works in the Jerzu winery, I’m not quite sure if his English is up to scratch ...if you see any odd phrases, you’ll know he’s using Google translator!. Either way, he has assured me that he will do all he can to help you.

If you ever get to taste this wine, I hope you enjoy it as much as my dad does. But then again it wouldn't do for all of us to have the same taste.

More about Wines in Sardinia :