Friday Night Flight 9/20/24 – Sardinia

Friday Flight for September, 20th

The weather Friday still looks favorable for at least one more night on the patio, so cross your fingers. To continue island flights I picked Sardinia.

Sardinia, Sardegna in Italian, is more than an island, it is only just part of Italy. For much of its modern winemaking history it was governed from Spain, and many of its distinctive local grape varieties such as Bovale Sardo (Graciano), Bovale Grande (Mazuelo) and Cannonau (Garnacha) are Spanish in origin. (This is just one of scores of examples of social history being reflected in a country’s vineyards.)

The island lies between Corsica and Sicily, both in terms of geography and wine. Like Corsica, it experienced a late 20th century boom and bust in heavily subsidized new vine plantings. Like Sicily, it now shows signs of real potential and determination to make the most of its own raw ingredients.

I couldn’t have picked a harder region to find 8 wines, so I had to dig through a lot of distributor’s books to put this together, but I’m happy with what I found. For the flight we will be tasting wines made from Torbato, Cannonau, Monica and Carignan and for the bonus pours Vermintino, Cannonau and Bovale. I’ve had Torbato once and have never heard of Muristellu or Blavale until this week.


Sella & Mosca Torbato Brut 2021 $19***Normally $27
This sparkling wine will be a nice palate cleanser to open with. Torbato is grown in the Algehro DOC and is often used in sparking wines for its bright acidity and crisp nature. Honeysuckle, white flower and pear backed up with racy acidity.

Cardedu “Praja” Monica 2022 $22.00
Monica di Sardegna is thought to have arrived with the Spaniards sometime in the 11th century. It’s light and floral by nature and the Cardedu is no exception. You can even put a chill on this wine and enjoy by the pool. Think tart berries and floral notes with light tannin and bright acidity.

Sella & Mosca “Terre Rare” Carinano DOC 2020 $18.00
I was expecting more of a “bruiser” from this wine, but it is surprisingly fresh with notes of pomegranate, currants and blackberries.

Sella & Mosca Cannonau Riserva 2020 $20
Cannonau is known as Grenache in France and Garnacha in Spain and is one of my favorite grapes. I always find it, no matter where it’s grown, to have a notes of raspberry, white pepper and spice. This wine has all of that and is well-structured and balanced.

Cardedu “Caladu” Cannonau 2020 $22
Cannonau is the most widely planted grape in Sardinia so I had to include two. This wine comes from the Ogliastra growing are which is the most mountainous and remote region. It to brings spice, dusty tannin and fleshy fruit.

And for the bonus wines…..

Pala “Stellato Nature” Vermentino 2022 $32
You can’t talk about Sardinian wines and not include the noble white grape Vermentino. Only 700 bottles of this wine are produced from 60 year old vines planted in limestone. Green apple, dried fruits, honey note with racy acidity.

Pala Cannonau Riserva 2021 $33
This Cannonau is coming from older vines with an average age of 45 years. dark ruby red, almost impenetrable, intense notes of little red fruits, blackberry and red cherry jam, together with fine spicy notes. Smooth, elegant tannins, full body, enveloping

Pala “Essentija” Bovale 2020 $40
Another new grape for me. It’s a full-bodied grape with ruby color and characteristics of dark cherry, herbs, blackberries with a moderate tannin structure. This is made from 80 to 100 year old grapes from the Isola dei Nuraghi DOC.


If you can’t make it Friday for the flights, I plan to have the patio open all weekend and will have 3 wines by the glass I’m pouring. And for a $10 corkage fee, you can pick any bottle of wine off the shelf to enjoy.
Monday Closed
Tuesday 11:00 – 7:00
Wednesday 11:00 – 7:00
Thursday 11:00 – 7:00
Friday 11:00 – 8:00
Saturday 11:00 – 7:00
Sunday 12:00 – 7:00

Phone: (503) 816-6224
Email: vinoshoppdx@gmail.com
Instagram: @vinopdx