Vermentino

Grape Variety

Vermentino is a white wine grape grown in various locations and under various names, around the western Mediterranean. Strongholds of which include northwestern Italy, southern France, and the neighboring islands of Corsica and Sardinia.

Vermentino goes by various names, among them Pigato in Liguria, Favorita in Piedmont and Rolle in Provence. However, there is long-standing disagreement over which of these are synonyms of Vermentino and which are distinct varieties in their own right.

Whatever the truth, Vermentino wines, Pigato wines, Favorita wines and Rolle wines have a lot in common, most obviously their refreshing acidity and attractive aromas of peach, lemon peel, dried herbs and a whiff of saline minerality.

There is uncertainty over Vermentino's genetic and geographical origins. While some authorities suggest that it came to Italy from Spain, others say precisely the opposite. A third theory even depicts the variety arriving in the Mediterranean from the Middle East, via Greece. 

Across the Tyrrhenian Sea in Sardinia, Vermentino has risen to become the island's key white-wine grape. Here, the variety has its very own regional appellation, Vermentino di Sardegna, and is used to make one of the island's most highly regarded wines, Vermentino di Gallura.

Appelation

Vermentino di Gallura is Sardinia's only DOCG appellation, and covers white Vermentino-based wines from a large area at the northern end of the island. The title held DOC status from 1975 until September 1996, when it became the island's first DOCG.

A classic Vermentino di Gallura DOCG dry white wine is typically bright straw-yellow with a greenish tinge. The nose offers a delicate and refreshing bouquet of white blossoms. The palate retains this floral style, balanced out with a slightly bitter edge, zingy acidity and a hint of minerality. Weightier examples can be an excellent food match for creamy chicken or fish dishes, while lighter wines from higher altitude vineyards complement all manner of seafood dishes.

As might be obvious from the title, Vermentino di Gallura wines are based on the Vermentino grape variety. This must legally account for 95 percent of any wine claiming the title. The final 5 percent may be made up from other authorized non-aromatic white grape varieties. Vermentino di Sardegna DOC only stipulates an 85 percent minimum.

This applies to all the wine styles permitted within the DOCG regulations. Though dry versions are most common, the bianco can be made in a range of sweetness levels. Frizzante, spumante, passito and vendemmia tardiva (late-harvest) may also be made. The still wine be classidied as superiore if it reaches a minimum alcohol by volume of 13 percent, rather than the standard 12.

Covering the northeastern corner of Sardinia, the catchment area for the DOCG is surprisingly large (several times bigger than those of Alghero, Vernaccia di Oristano and Malvasia di Bosa combined). It corresponds roughly to the province of Olbia-Tempio, which itself corresponds roughly to the historical Gallura region; the Gallurese dialect is still spoken there today.

Some 1150 hectares of vineyards were recorded under the DOCG in 2017. Output in the same year was just under 536,000 cases.

Winemaker

The story of Piero Mancini goes back a long way, to when he spent his childhood here in Gallura and fell in love with the place. His memories as a child are of days spent in the countryside with his grand-parents looking after the family’s vineyards.
Some years later, in the 60s, the well-known and respected dentist in Cagliari decides to listen to the call that his land of Gallura has always sent to him.
He starts his adventure in the wine-producing world by planting the first vines and gaining experience as the head of some prestigious Sardinian wineries.
In the meantime, vineyards started to expand and with them Piero Mancini’s passion, experience and desire to dare.
In 1989, he achieved his dream with the opening of his Cantina delle Vigne, in front of the Gulf of Olbia. The activity of grape production was therefore added to vinification and wine bottling.
The first wines bearing his label were born with a production philosophy based on the complex “Climate-Soil-Vineyard” trio, aware of the important possibility of obtaining high quality grapes, which combined the best in terms of the peculiarities and uniqueness of the local area of origin.

His family has taken over (wife and two sons along with daughter in law).