Our Vineyards

This is the historic family vineyard, 3.80 hectares of “pure nature”. Planted anew, in 2000, where the family had planted the first vineyard in 1949.

We are 350 meters above sea level with a significant difference in altitude within the property. Here the land is arid, derived from granite disintegration, a land with a significant grain size and rich in stony fragments. A land that, for its ability to reflect the sun rays, has an important effect on the life of the vines and on the vegetative and ripening phases. The vineyard is immersed in a wild nature made of cork oaks and Mediterranean scrub rich in helichrysum, an aromatic herb that is widespread in our area and very dear to us. We find hints of this plant evident in the aroma and taste of our Vermentino di Gallura Superiore docg Biancosmeraldo.

The vineyard offers a beautiful view of Monte Limbara, granite par excellence! We are less than 30 km west of the sea. Here the winds from the sea are channeled towards west and help us to keep the grapes ventilated and healthy. Precisely for this reason the vineyard, exposed to north-west, was planted following the lines of maximum slope (that we call “a ritocchino”) to embrace and accompany the strong mistral that often blows in this area.

Here, in Su Cabrileddu, beside Vermentino, we have planted red grapes such as: Muristellu, Carignano, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese Grosso (biotype Lamole). The vineyard exposure has proved to be particularly favorable for these grapes. Here, both for white grapes, but even more so for red grapes, we enjoy a great natural advantage: in September and October the sun enters the vineyard late, after nine in the morning, this helps to preserve aromas and scents that the temperature range, between day and night, guarantees.

This vineyard is exposed to south-east and the rows have been positioned from east to west, this in order to follow the flow of the mistral and avoid stagnant humidity.

In this vineyard we planted only Vermentino of 4 different clones taking into consideration both the type of soil and the type of wine that we wanted to produce in the most natural way possible, aiming to obtain different scents and aromas in the same glass.

Before planting the vineyard we worked impeccably on the hydraulic regime of the vineyard to create a dry environment for the roots. We built important drainage to prevent stagnant water. In order to guarantee suitable vegetation we created a new accumulation pond with relative internal hydrogeological aquifers where the water from the aquifers flows at the end of the summer.

The close proximity to the Limbara mountain range makes the temperature range between night and day very strong, a great advantage for the grapes! This is particularly significant from mid-August to the end of September, the time when we normally finish harvesting in this vineyard.

Our friend Massimo Cassamagnaga, from WineTip, our great partner in Milan, describes his first visit to Montiscia as follows: “A vineyard blessed by the earth, the sun, the wind, and the sea. A harmony of exceptional conditions that ensure the grapes arrive healthy and strong until overripe, dense yet fresh. A fantastic vineyard, one to treasure in the memories of those fortunate enough to seet it.”

We are in the Sorso-Sennori area, at an altitude of 180 meters. The vineyard overlooks the sea, but it is not on the sea; we are just a few kilometers as the crow flies from the Gulf of Asinara. The sea is right there, it feels like you can touch it. You can admire the Platamona coastline, the Sorso marina, and, in the distance, even Stintino and the famous Pelosa Beach.

It was 2015, and for some time I had been searching for a suitable vineyard to produce the Cannonau I had in mind: a unique Cannonau. I have visited many, and this is where I settled. I fell in love with the soil of this vineyard first, even before the location and the breathtaking view. The plant faces northwest, enjoying the best sunlight without suffering from the scorching rays during the hottest hours of the day.

The vineyard has a humpback shape: the lower, lateral sections of the vineyard, which are always more lush, provide the grapes for our Cannonau DOC Nerosmeraldo and are harvested towards the end of September. In the central area of the vineyard, on the top of the saddle, in the central part of each row, where the soil is driest and whitest, we leave the grapes on the vine until mid-October. Here we harvest the grapes for our Cannonau DOC Riserva Su Mere. Here, especially in the upper part of the vineyard the color of the soil is unique, almost white!

The color and texture might suggest sandy soil, but it’s actually a calcareous-marly soil, a soil in which the various components don’t bind strongly together and is completely devoid of clay. This soil is difficult for weeds to grow because it keeps very dry on the surface, while it retains precious water deeper down. We become even more aware of this by looking at the color of the leaves in mid-October, in the upper section of the vineyard where we harvest to produce Su Mere, with the wilted bunches still on the vine, and yet the lush green leaves, as are the stems of the grapes.

Here the grapes wilt—or I prefer to say they shrive—due to the wind and sun, not because they lack lifeblood. By carefully observing how the upper and lateral parts of these rows behave, we can see that in the upper section, where we produce the Su Mere grapes and where the soil is whiter, the bunches begin to wilt as early as around September 10th.

In the same row, on the lower lateral wings, the bunches are firmer and the leaves are larger and more numerous; in the lateral sections of the vineyard, pruning is also longer and there are more buds in production. Since we took over this vineyard, pruning has never changed, and no fertilization has been applied for years.

The marly limestone nature of this soil contributes, in addition to the work we do in the vineyard, to the production of sparse bunches, which in turn helps us push some of the grapes grown here to overripe. Manual vineyard work, done with the hoe, allows us to eradicate weeds and keep the soil loose and free of cracks, thus maximizing the retention of precious water deep down.

Fertilization is exclusively organic, with excess shoots and grapes left in the ground. The vineyard is not irrigated and therefore, by its nature, produces small, high-quality grapes—exactly what we aim for.

In the vineyard, we perform a very thorough green pruning in May, selecting only the best shoots. At the end of July, we return to the vineyard and perform a defoliation that favors the fruit’s exposure to the sun, protecting the bunches from rot. During these phases, we leave more leaves and buds in the sections of the vineyard that produce Nerosmeraldo grapes, while we perform a more thorough green pruning in the section of the vines that produces Su Mere.

A further selection is made at harvest time, when, for both Nerosmeraldo and the overripe portion of grapes for Su Mere, only the bunches suitable for winemaking are selected. I know this vineyard well and can confirm that the wind is the master here in Montiscia. The air movement, filtering between the rows, the foliage and between the sparse bunches, guarantees dry and healthy grapes, preventing potential rotting especially during over-ripening for the Su Mere grapes. Thanks to the nature of the soil, the ever-present wind, the altitude above and the sharp temperature variations between day and night, we are able to grow healthy bunches and, for the portion of the vineyard producing Su Mere grapes, extend the vine’s growing season, allowing for harvests later than usual for the area. The 2018 Su Mere grapes were harvested starting October 9th.