
Sardinia is home to at least one festival per month. Perhaps the most spectacular is the Festa di Sant'Efisio, which is held in the capital Cagliari and nearby Nora to honor a martyr beheaded by a Roman soldier in 303. Other festivals include men dressed in goatskins and horse races with masked riders.
Sardinia's only wine with a top of the line designation, Vermentino di Gallura DOCG that comes from the same general area as its posh resorts. It seems that the local grapes love the area's thin layer of sandy topsoil over solid granite. I'm sure that you won't feel any granite under the sand at Costa Smeralda beaches. The white Vermentino grape is grown all over the island. Other white varieties include local Nuragus and Vernaccia and the international Moscato and Malvasia. Local red varieties include Monica and Cannonau; international red varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. There are a lot of sweet wines produced on this island that perhaps unfortunately never make it to the mainland, much less to North America.
Companies selling wine tours of Sardinia include Delicious Italy, Holidays in Sardinia, and Wine Tour Italia. Sardinia wineries that accept visits include Sella & Mosca in Alghero, Vitivinicola Alberto Loi in Cardedu, Contini Attilio in Cabras, and Tenute Dettori in Sennon. A few words of warning are in order. Make sure that you check ahead of time for opening hours and whether English is spoken. Some places may charge admission; others may expect you to buy some of their products.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but prefers drinking fine wine with the right foods. He teaches computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel website www.travelitalytravel.com and his global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com featuring weekly bargain wine reviews.
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