Solano Cellars
Friday, August 2nd
5-8pm
Flight of 5 Corsican Wines for $25 ($15 club)
Flight of 5 Sardinia Wines for $25 ($15 club)
Try all 10 for $40 ($25 club)
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Sardinia & Corsica are separated by only 17km and share a rich history that dates back almost 4,000 years, from the Nuragic civilization through the House of Savoy, playing host to Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans along the way. They also share a remarkably complex soil type and geography that consistently produces wines that could only be from this set of islands in the Mediterranean. They can be defined by four core features: prolonged exposure to sun; rocky, mineral soils built on a base of volcanic basalt; a close proximity to the sea, infusing a consistent vein of salinity in the wines; and the persistent winds that keep all of the aforementioned elements in check. But while the similarities are striking, Sardinia and Corsica shouldn't be looked at as cut and paste versions of the other.
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On Sardinia, Vermentino thrives on the coastal plains, with their sandy, alluvial, well-draining soils preserving bright acidity and freshness throughout. Soils in the mountainous inland regions of the island are more diverse, ranging from limestone and granite to clay and schist. That diversity, coupled with the increased elevation in these rugged vineyards, draws out deep, robust fruit character and bold structure from Cannonau, the island's chief red variety (thought to be genetically identical to Grenache). Corsica, by contrast, exists at the tail of the Alpine chain and is made up almost entirely of soaring peaks that reach up to 9,000 feet in elevation. Terroir here, too, is marked by rocky soils of varying mineral composition, largely granite, with pockets of schist and limestone (and bolstered by the omnipresent basalt base). Corsica's feral beauty, the brambly, aromatic myrtle and juniper bushes that dot the island, are reflected in the expression of the wines produced here: savory-scented Vermentinu, Niellucciu and Sciaccarellu that scream of charred earth and wild game.
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We've long championed wines from both regions as among the most (if not the most) terroir-expressive wines in the world. On Friday at Solano, we're exploring the full range of what these two islands are capable of. From Sardinia, we'll feature wines from Cardedu, a 4th generation producer on the sparsely populated southeastern coast; Berteru, who craft stunning single vineyard wines from the central hills of the island; and Contini, whose Vernaccia aged for four years under flor in chestnut barrels is one of the most intriguing (and delicious) wines we've tasted in some time. And from Corsica, we'll focus largely on Domaine Vico - a multi-generation estate in the northern sector of Corsica whose vineyards sit in the center of the island, in the foothills of imposing peaks that surround it - before ending with a library pour from Nicolas Mariotti Bindi's goblet-trained, impossibly old-vine plantings of Corsica's indigenous varieties.
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*No reservations necessary