Vernaccia di Oristano
Vernaccia, a very special wine, aged in partially filled barrels, is made with grapes from lower Tirso Valley, in the province of Oristano. After ageing for two years, the liquid has a bright amber colour and its fragrance has floral notes that include almond, peach, violet, with an almond taste that is slightly bitter. Vernaccia can age for many years and improve.
Nasco di Cagliari
Poured into wine glasses this precious dessert wine releases a delicate fragrance, a mixture of the smell of newly-dried grapes and the delicate smells of musk and wood undergrowth. The production of this wine is limited to a few hectares in the hills of Quartu, Maracalagonis, Dolianova, Selargius and Sinnai.
Its colour ranges from straw yellow to brilliant golden yellow with amber lights. It has a very delicate fragrance with a full, warm, sweet and very soft taste, with a very slight bitter aftertaste. There are four varieties, natural sweet, natural dry, natural sweet port-like and dry port-like. The lowest alcohol content is 15%.
Moscato
The Sardinian varieties of Muscat wine are produced from Moscatello vines that have different characteristics related to the regions of the island they are grown in. These differences can be noticed comparing the three DOC Muscat wines, Sorso Sennori Muscat, Cagliari Muscat and Sardinia Muscat. The sweet natural variety has a strong golden colour and very intense aromatic fragrances.
It has a sweet, velvety, full-body and alcohol-warm taste. The taste and smell of the sweet natural port-like variety are closer to the grapes than the sweet natural variety, which is less aromatic. Sorso Sennori Muscat and Cagliari Muscat are still wines whereas Sardinia Muscat is a sparkly wine.
Malvasia
Two kinds of wine, Bosa Malvasia and Cagliari Malvasia, are produced from the grapes of a very old vine variety, Malvasia di Sardegna.There are differences between Sardinian Malvasia wines which are not like any other Italian Malvasia wines.
To grow Malvasia vines, the best area is between the towns of Bosa, Suni, Tinnura, Flussio, Magomadas, Modolo and Tresnuraghes because of the soil and the special layout of the area. There are four kinds of Malvasia wine, i.e. natural sweet wine, natural dry wine, natural sweet port-like wine and dry port-like wine.
The wine, which is straw-yellow and gold, has an intense, very delicate smell and the taste ranges from sweet to dry. This full-bodied alcoholic drink has a slightly bitter aftertaste. The lowest alcohol content is 15% (port-like versions have a 17.5% alcohol content).