I expect both the wine and the risotto to make encore appearances at our table! 

This  month the Italian Food, Wine and Travel (#ItalianFWT)  group of wine and food bloggers are exploring  the Island Wines of Italy.

As I contemplated the topic, the top of mind islands for me were Sicily and Sardegna (Sardinia), but I wondered what how many Italian island there are.  According to our host Jill of  L’Occasion there are more than 450 Italian islands. 350 of them are in the sea, either as an element of an archipelago or a singleton. There are 100 lake and lagoon islands, of which Venice comprises 32 of them.  Wow!

As is often the case, my choice of wine for the event is driven by a choice of what is available at my favorite wine shop and what I think I can cobble together to pair with that wine.  Since I tend to favor wines I’ve never tried before, I settled on the 2017 Piero Mancini Vermentino di Gallura from Sardinia.

About Sardinia

Sardinia is located about 150 miles off the west coast of mainland Italy.  It is the second-largest island (and only marginally smaller than Sicily) in the Mediterranean Sea.

I’ve landed in Sardinia, a Mediterranean island where stress feels out-of-place among the mountains, verdant with maquis, and blue waters that shift in color like an ombré of indigo.  – Lilah Ramzi, Vogue

Since the mid-18th Century, Sardinia has been one of Italy’s five autonomous regions.  Its separation from the mainland has led to a culture and identity somewhat removed from the Italian mainstream. This is reflected in the Sardinian viniculture.  Wine is much less culturally and historically ingrained in Sardinia, than in the mainland Italy.   And its portfolio of  grape varieties bears little resemblance to those in any other Italian wine region.

In Sardinia one finds varieties of French and Spanish origin, exemplified by Grenache (called Cannonau here), Carignan (and its distinct clonal variants Bovale di Spagna and Bovale Grande) and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The most “Italian” varieties on the island are Malvasia and Vermentino, but even Vermentino can only just be considered Italian, being more widely planted on Corsica and southern France – often under the name Rolle – than in its homeland, Liguria.

Travel destination-wise Sardinia “is moored in the bluest waters of the Mediterranean. It boasts superb diving spots and a host of Roman ruins, as well as some of the most memorable cuisine in southern Europe according to Lonely Planet.

Finally here’s an interesting factoid Sardinians among the longest living folks in the world; the island has nearly 10 times more centenarians per capita than the U.S.  Yes!  I’ll have some of whatever they’re doing!

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The Wine

Vermentino di Gallura is Sardinia’s only DOCG appellation. It specializes in white Vermentino-based wines from a large area at the northern end of the island.   While Vermentino is grown all over the island, what makes Vermentino di Gallura special are:

• Its proximity the Tyrrhenian Sea, and its cooling influences
• It’s soils, which are mostly decomposed granite, lend wonderful minerality to its wines
• It’s terroir includes plenty of Mediterranean underbrush which lend a wonderful bouquet to its wines.

A classic Vermentino di Gallura DOCG wine is the color of fresh straw, with the greenish tinge of drying grass. The nose offers a delicate and refreshing bouquet of white blossoms, and the palate retains this floral style and, in the best examples, balances it out with zingy acidity and a hint of minerality according to Winesearcher.com.

The Piero Mancini winery has been a benchmark producer of Vermentino di Gallura for over thirty years. The winery is located near the port of Olbia in the northwest of Sardegna, near the chic beach resort area of the Costa Smeralda. Alessandro Mancini currently runs the winery along with his brother Antonio and sister Laura, though it was their father, Piero, who founded the estate. Piero was born in the Gallura area but after university, he moved to the south of Sardegna where he worked as a dentist. Throughout those years he maintained a foothold in the Gallura area – planting his first vineyards in the 1960’s and gaining important experience from other important wineries nearby. He eventually purchased 70 hectares of vineyards in the 1970’s. In the mid 90’s he followed his dream and retired as a dentist and moved back home full time, though it wasn’t until 1989 that he finally opened the current winery.  Today the family owns about 100 hectares split between three parcels from the heart of the Gallura zone: Balaiana, Lu Scolombrino and Montelittu. The terrain in Gallura is dominated by large outcroppings of granite which rise sporadically from the ground throughout the area. The soil itself in the vineyards is made up of that same granite, weathered and broken down into fine sand according to importer Polander Selections.

My tasting notes follow:

Color – Pale straw yellow
Aromas – White peach, apricot, citrus and hints of white flowers, almonds and sea breeze
Body – Medium-bodied, round and very fresh
Taste – White peach, apricot, and lemon zest with a hints of lime, almond and a pleasing saline minerality
Finish – Medium+

100% Vermentino| 12.5% abv|SRP – $14.99

The Pairing

I’m a believer in the food and wine pairing adage that “what grows together, goes together”.  Given that Spring in Sardinia brings a fresh crop of wild asparagus (which is grown all over the island, picked in the countryside and not available for sale in markets – see photo bottom right above), and Vermentino’s affinity for seafood, I chose to whip up  a Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto.

The wine’s heft, mouth-watering acidity, salinity and minerality made it the perfect partner for the my risotto!  I expect both the wine and the risotto to make encore appearances at our table!

Please have a look at what inspired by fellow wine and food bloggers to share their experience with the food, wine and trips to Italian islands. 

• Steven from Steven’s Wine and Food Blog features Sicilian Pasta con le Sarde Wine Pairing #ItalianFWT
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass offers From Sardegna to Sicilia by Sea – Two Pairings (#ItalianFWT)
• Pinny from Chinese Food and Wine Pairings explores Sicily’s Marsala Wine – A New Product (Wine) Life Cycle that Started in the 18th Century but Continues to Thrive Today! #ItalianFWT
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla recollects Island Memories, Slow-Roasted Lamb, and Cannonau Di Sardegna
• Lynn from Savor The Harvest is in the mood for Italian Island Wine Speak with Vinisola #ItalianFWT
• Cindy from Grape Experiences reveals Discovering Liquid Gold from Sardinia and Sicily at Chicago’s Coda di Volpe
• Jennifer from VinoTravels tells the story of The Cultural Heritage of Mamuthone and Cannonau of Cantina Giuseppe Sedilesu
• Susannah from Avvinare invites readers to Discover Aleatico from the island of Elba
• Wendy from A Day In the Life on the Farm makes Oven Roasted Salmon with Tarragon Tartar Sauce paired with a Sicilian Grillo
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares Island Wines of Italy: Alghero Torbato from Sardegna
• Gwen from Wine Predator features Island Wines of Italy: 3 from Sicily paired with pizza ItalianFWT
• Jeff from FoodWineClick is Dreaming of Italian Islands While We Wait for Spring
• Nicole from Somm’s Table crafts A Passion for Sicily with Passopisciaro
• Jane from Always Ravenous is Tasting and Pairing Sicilian Wine From Mount Etna
• Cynthia and Pierre tell How a Wine Economists Conference Led Us to Wine from the Venice Lagoon.
• Our host Jill at L’Occasion features “300 Days of Sunshine”: The Vineyards of Sicilia DOC Interview with Alberto Tasca

We love guests so please join our chat on Twitter on Saturday, April 9th at 8a PT/11a ET as we discuss the Island Wines of Italy!  Just follow the #ItalianFWT hashtag and clicking “Latest.” Once you’ve found us, feel free to chime in: just make sure to append #ItalianFWT to your tweets so we can see them.

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