Sulcis, the land of millennial winemakers
In a magical place, just southwest of Sardinia, sunsets have the red hue of Carignano grapes. From the vineyards of Cantina di Santadi, the spectacular sight of the sun setting over the sea has been magically repeated for centuries.
Sulcis is the island’s oldest geological area, where agricultural and winemaking traditions had their roots since the dawn of time.
It is the Sulcis land that bewitched the internationally renowned winemaker Giacomo Tachis, father of Sassicaia. In 1980, Antonello Pilloni (featured in photo), the current president of Cantina di Santadi, asked Tachis to develop a new path for the winery.
1984 was the year of Terre Brune, the first Sardinian wine aged in French oak barrels with Carignano grapes and the undeniable sign of an island’s oenological renaissance. It was precisely thanks to this grape variety that the winery, for over 30 years now, has pursued quality policies, thereby becoming a national benchmark.
Carignano grapes are native to Sulcis, and thanks to the properties of clay and sandy soil combined with expert skills, Sulcis produces wines of the highest quality. With these wines, Cantina di Santadi has been able to conquer markets and win prestigious awards without ever losing touch with tradition.
Cantina di Santadi, founded in 1960, is a consortium of about 200 winemakers who cultivate grapes on a property spanning over 600 hectares of vineyards. They guarantee to deliver only the finest grapes after careful selection and strict manual harvesting.
There are more than twenty labels (many inspired by Giacomo Tachis) made mostly of great red wines such as Terre Brune, Rocca Rubia, Noras, Araja, and Grotta Rossa matched by fine white wines such as Villa di Chiesa, a barricaded Vermentino with the addition of locally grown chardonnay grapes.
Empowering the contributing members over shared criteria has been the driving force for change through which President Pilloni has been able to combine ancient winemaking traditions with new winemaking technologies, creating an adequate balance between modernity and tradition. Giacomo Tachis loves this initiative because it is the perfect culmination of reality with tradition, legendary tales, and magic. Cantina di Santadi has shown the world the rustic and primitive essence of Sardinia through its high-quality wines.
