Winery of the Month – MAR 2019
Cabtina Mesa
Sardinia has a very interesting history. It was originally visited by the Phoenicians. It was then “annexed” by the Carthaginians. By annexed, we could say “conquered” because they had to defeat the per-historic peoples living there. After the first Punic wars, Rome was able to take Sardinia from the Carthaginians. The Vandals conquered Sardinia next in 456. This only lasted 78 years as the Byzantines kicked them out in 534. Other than a very brief Ostrogoth invasion, the Byzantines held on for 300 years. We don’t really know what happened to the Byzantine rulers of Sardinia after this. In 1100 BC, Sardinia was split into four regions, each with a governing body. In 1287, the Pope created the “Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica” and gave it to the King of Aragon in exchange for him ending the war for Sicily.
There was one small problem with this plan as Sardinia had its own rulers at the time. So the Pope supported the Aragonese invasion of Sardinia. This is interesting because it is the first time Feudalism is introduced to the Island at a time when feudalism was being rejected by other European powers. In 1469, the Island became Spanish through the clever use of marriage. Sardinia has always had famines , but the worst was during Spanish rule when about a third of the Islands 250k people died. In the very early 1700’s, the Island briefly came under Austrian control before going back to Spain and then in 1718 to the House of Savoy. In 1790, the Italian language was instituted on the Island. 1793 saw hostilities with France in which the Sardinias won, even winning a battle in which a young Napoleon Bonaparte was a leader. 900 Sardinians were captured by a Tunisian raid in 1798 and subsequently sold into slavery. The last Muslim raid on the Island was in 1815, over a millennium after the first. The island then fought for the Unification of Italy and joined the unified country. With this history are you surprised that there are five formally recognized languages on the island?
Cantina Mesa is a very new Winery. It was started by Gavino Sanna in 2004. The name Mesa, which means “table” in Sardinian, was chosen to showcase the core values of the winery: make high quality wines that fit perfectly on a table with food and friends as well as proving the quality of native Sardinian grapes.
Guinco Vermentino di Sardegna
Vermentino is planted all around the Mediterranean Sea. It is probably associated most with Sardinia. This one shows a mixture of white fleshed fruit and citrus fruit. It is bright and clean with a medium body. If you like Sauvignon Blanc, give this a try.
Regularly $19.99 Sale $14.99
Primo Scura Cannonau di Sardegna
Cannonau is more widely known by Grenache. Ripe red fruit stands out above some spice. The wine is bigger than you would think by looking at the color. Dr. Oz says you will live to be 150 if you drink this wine.
Regularly $15.99 Sale $11.99
Buio Carignano del Sulcis
Buio means dark in Italian and it is a fitting name for this wine. A dark ruby color lead to dark fruit like plum and black cherry. The wine is un-oaked to showcase the fruit. If you like a fruit forward red blend or Zinfandel try this one.
Regularly $19.99 Sale $15.99
Buio Buio Carignano del Sulcis
Here we get a darker more complex version of Carignano. The wine has spent some time in oak and it is apparent on the nose. The dark fruits are still present but you will notice a light balsamic note running underneath the fruit. The oak shows its self with some chocolate and vanilla flavors. This is a big wine to go with heavy meats or sharp cheeses.
Regularly $39.99 Sale $29.99