Vernaccia di Oristano comes from the province of Oristano, on the central-western coast of Sardinia. It is an unconventional white wine: it is made from the Vernaccia di Oristano grape alone, has at least 15% alcohol and spends years in cask before going on sale. The DOC dates from 1971. Today it is a small production, about 22 hectares of vineyard for 335 hectolitres.
Years in cask
The regulations provide four versions, all from pure Vernaccia di Oristano. The Bianco ages for at least 29 months, two years of them in cask, and cannot be released before 1 March of the third year after the harvest. The Superiore spends at least three years in cask, the Riserva at least four, and they are released from 1 March of the fourth and fifth year respectively. The Liquoroso, dry or sweet, is the fortified version.
In the glass it is amber, with aromas of toasted almond, dried fruit, honey and oxidative notes; on the palate it is dry and warm, with a long finish and a characteristic bitter-almond return.
A long history
The name comes from the Latin vernacula, "of the place", and the first written record dates from 1327, in the Breve di Villa di Chiesa, a book of laws kept in Iglesias. In the age of the Judicates, the Carta de Logu, promoted by Eleanor of Arborea, required vines to be planted on uncultivated land and set strict laws to protect them. At the end of the nineteenth century phylloxera destroyed these vineyards too, which were then replanted on American rootstock. After the war production picked up again, many growers joined together in a cooperative and obtained the regulations. In the nineties a sharp decline followed, linked to European incentives for uprooting vineyards and to the costs of a wine that must stay in the cellar for years.
At the table
Dry and deep, it is a meditation wine and an aperitif, alongside toasted almonds and bottarga. It also goes with smoked fish, aged cheeses and Sardinian almond sweets. The same province produces the wines of the Arborea DOC, and the whole island Vermentino di Sardegna.
