Vernaccia di Oristano D.O.C.
The Vernaccia di Oristano from the Contini Winery is a wine of unusual complexity, multi-layered in taste and long in finish. The Vernaccia vine in Sardinia is an autochthonous variety that only exists here. The word "Vernaccia" (as well as the South Tyrolean Vernatsch) derives from "vernaculus", which is how the Romans described wines they found on their arrival.
Vernaccia di Sardegna thrives best in the fertile alluvial soil at the mouth of the Tirso river in the west of the island. The traditional Vernaccia di Oristano, is a Sardinian speciality, a piece of Sardinian wine culture. What would be bad for any other wine, the Vernaccia needs for its maturation process: namely half-full barrels and summer heat. Vernaccia di Oristano matures for a long time in chestnut wood barrels that are three-quarters full. Special yeast strains secrete a waxy substance when exposed to air, which helps them float on the surface of the wine. This pile prevents the wine from oxidising too quickly. The Vernaccia becomes more durable the longer it matures in the barrel.
In autumn and spring the yeasts grow, in the hot summer the wine evaporates through the staves of the barrel, thus increasing its alcohol content. The wine becomes more and more complex during this year-long process and increasingly takes on an amber-like colour. Vernaccia di Oristano used to be served in all the bars in Sardinia, and anyone who was anybody drank Vernaccia. Only the common people drank red wine.
"For the Vernaccia wines of Attilio Contini, there is nothing equal in the whole of Italy." Vino Italiano - The Regional Wines of Italy
Colour: golden yellow to amber.
Nose: Intense, scent of almond blossom.
Taste: powerful, dry, warm, velvety and harmonious, long finish, aftertaste of bitter almond.
Serving suggestion: to be drunk from small glasses, unchilled. Can also be drunk as an aperitif before a meal, but then well chilled. Also suitable as a dessert wine with (almond) pastries, for example.
Drinking temperature: 18-20° or chilled at 8-10°.
Contains sulphites
*If there is no more wine in stock from this vintage, we will send the wine of the following year.
Vernaccia di Sardegna thrives best in the fertile alluvial soil at the mouth of the Tirso river in the west of the island. The traditional Vernaccia di Oristano, is a Sardinian speciality, a piece of Sardinian wine culture. What would be bad for any other wine, the Vernaccia needs for its maturation process: namely half-full barrels and summer heat. Vernaccia di Oristano matures for a long time in chestnut wood barrels that are three-quarters full. Special yeast strains secrete a waxy substance when exposed to air, which helps them float on the surface of the wine. This pile prevents the wine from oxidising too quickly. The Vernaccia becomes more durable the longer it matures in the barrel.
In autumn and spring the yeasts grow, in the hot summer the wine evaporates through the staves of the barrel, thus increasing its alcohol content. The wine becomes more and more complex during this year-long process and increasingly takes on an amber-like colour. Vernaccia di Oristano used to be served in all the bars in Sardinia, and anyone who was anybody drank Vernaccia. Only the common people drank red wine.
"For the Vernaccia wines of Attilio Contini, there is nothing equal in the whole of Italy." Vino Italiano - The Regional Wines of Italy
Colour: golden yellow to amber.
Nose: Intense, scent of almond blossom.
Taste: powerful, dry, warm, velvety and harmonious, long finish, aftertaste of bitter almond.
Serving suggestion: to be drunk from small glasses, unchilled. Can also be drunk as an aperitif before a meal, but then well chilled. Also suitable as a dessert wine with (almond) pastries, for example.
Drinking temperature: 18-20° or chilled at 8-10°.
Contains sulphites
*If there is no more wine in stock from this vintage, we will send the wine of the following year.
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