Small vineyards that paint the landscape as a palette of colors as the seasons change, are considered jewels for their limited but high-quality production.
Time seems to have stopped here, as the viticulture here is primitive and heroic. In the very center of Sardinia, in the middle of the Barbagie region, near the mountains, at an altitude of about 500 to 700 meters, there are many small vineyards, the largest of which is only half a hectare, like It is a larger garden, and this is where Mandrolisai Doc comes from.
Most of the grapes here are cultivated in the form of small trees or bilateral permanent branches.
The harsh winters also bring frequent snowfall compared to the island average. Significant temperature changes can cause grapes to change color. High-altitude vineyards dominate the land, though often dotted among woods, hedges and other fruit or olive trees.
Gianni Nieddu, professor at the University of Sassari, explains: “In this area, Doc needs to combine discipline and tradition in the vineyard, with indigenous grape varieties accounting for about 30% of the proportion. “Monica” is The brainchild of mankind, an early grape variety that was very productive even under difficult circumstances; resulting in wines with body, structure, sugar and alcohol; and finally the “Sardinian Bovale sardo”.
It is not uncommon for many entrepreneurs to leave the higher-rated Doc by concentrating on the Sardinian Bovale Igt, which has always been considered a difficult grape variety to grow, but today Through technology, it is also possible to produce wines rich in anthocyanins, with effective polyphenol structure and persistence.”
The care of the plants is primitive and the machinery remains outside the vineyards.
On the other hand, winemakers are also very concerned about this land, which has just recently been registered as a rural landscape heritage, Professor Nidu continues: “If on the one hand they are looking for innovations, on the other hand they still want to use the techniques of the past.
I am in Think of animal hauling, like the oxen that were used to plow the vineyards thousands of years ago. In a way, this kind of viticulture, isolated by regional influences.”
But Mandrolisai isn’t the only heroic Sardinian wine region, including the Sulcis region where Carignano is grown. Professor Nidu added: “The Sant’Antioco area is becoming more and more unique and unique because it comes from a small island off the west coast of southern Sardinia. It’s a sandy land.
Phylloxera has never visited here, so we still have vineyards that have never been grafted, and are constantly being renewed and reproduced. The centuries-old trees have also recently sent out new shoots.
This increases the vines that grow close to the sea. particularity”. Also in this case, in many areas, on the small islands and on the mainland, the original methods of cultivating the Carignano vine in the form of small trees and cultivating the vine fields with animals have been preserved. , such as using donkeys and horses.
These cases, we can find them in the higher areas such as: Orgosolo, Mamoiada, Jerzu and the towns in the center of the island, where the widely planted Cannonau, where the original techniques of small vineyards, animal farming, and small tree cultivation methods are still preserved, and only loyal people who regard them as treasures can see the hard work and sacrifice behind it.”
