The city of Oristano is located in central-western Sardinia, in the northern part of the Campidano plain, facing the homonymous gulf at the mouth of the Tirso river. It has a history of high medieval origin that deserves to be explored, culminating in its period of greatest splendor when it was the capital of the Giudicato of Arborea. The surrounding territory has been inhabited by numerous peoples since the Nuragic and pre-Nuragic periods, who found in this valley the ideal conditions for agriculture.
In the nuragic site "Sa Osa", between the municipalities of Cabras and Oristano, seeds have been found.
Perfectly preserved, dating back to approximately 3000/3500 years ago, of a variety presumably with white berries (similar to the Vernaccia of Oristano and the Malvasia of Bosa), which would confirm that the cultivation of the vine predates the Phoenician period.
The most accredited and grounded theory about the origin of the name is the one that connects the term “vernaculum” or “vernacula,” meaning local, typical of the place, a name that the Romans used when identifying a new type of vine, to which was later added the name of the locality or area. This is why there are several types of Vernaccia in Italy, which do not have any genetic link among them. Currently, the most well-known are 3, two with white berries, one from Oristano and one from San Gimignano, and one with red berries, from Serrapetrona.
The Vernaccia was and still is cultivated in the lower Tirso Valley and in Sinis, near the sea.
Different territories with different soils, the main ones are two: one rich in substance and more fertile, the so-called “Bennaxi,” which is the most recent soil near the Tirso river, and the oldest soil, the “Gregori.” There are also different types of soil, calcareous or basaltic, in the higher area of Sinis called “Su Pranu,” with which the Nuraghi were built.
A fundamental importance in the history of this grapevine is owed to the Contini family, who, thanks to the intuition of Salvatore Contini, decided to transform a family production into a winery, founding in the distant 1898 the first and oldest winery on the Island, the Cantina Contini based in Cabras. Salvatore's son, Attilio, took the reins of the company from the early ‘30s and chose to mainly enhance the two strictly local grape varieties: the Vernaccia di Oristano and the Nieddera of the Tirso Valley. Some minor varieties were also kept, including those that, like the Caddiu, a red berry variety, are almost extinct today. Attilio grew the company during a historical period when per capita wine consumption was quite high. Since the middle of the last century, Vernaccia has grown both in production and sales; it was sold throughout the Island and became an exportable product, particularly the aged version. The growth was so significant that it became the first wine awarded the DOC in Sardinia in 1971.
The long maturation on the plant allows the grapes to reach a high sugar content, and the harvest takes place at the end of September to early October, strictly by hand, in vineyards with low yield and low production, conditions that allow for a wine with a natural alcohol content of at least 15%. The winemaking process occurs in white, with gentle pressing and fermentation at controlled temperatures, then left to decant, filtered, and clarified but not completely cleaned because it must retain useful components for the life of the yeasts. At this point, at the end of winter or the beginning of spring, the old barrels of Vernaccia are emptied, leaving a small quantity, about 2-3%, to maintain part of the Flor yeasts in the barrel. After racking, the yeasts find a new substrate to work on, as their goal is not to make Vernaccia but to live. They need time to adapt, and after a few months, they have already colonized the new wine and begin to move to the surface to protect themselves from the high alcohol content of the wine. Over the years, the yeasts produce a series of components not initially present in the wine, which in the meantime loses about 3% of its volume also due to the environment, the size of the barrels, and the aqueous part gradually making room for the alcohol, until values exceed 17%. At this stage, the yeasts begin to die, and the wine enters a purely oxidative aging phase, protected by significant alcohol content.
The aging of Vernaccia occurs under oxidative conditions.
That is, in the presence of air, which from an enological standpoint is a significant anomaly and a danger for the wine. The barrels are not filled with wine, leaving a substantial part of the wine's surface exposed to the air. The Vernaccia thus rests for years in the microclimate of the Tirso Valley: a mix of prevailing winds, humidity, and salinity from the nearby ponds. A wine is created that, even 40/50 years later, is organoleptically perfect, indeed acquiring characteristics of great value, among which is a great complexity of taste. The regulations mention different types of Vernaccia: DOC, Riserva, Superiore, and also the fortified liquor version, although the latter is currently not produced. The older the wine, the more important and complex it becomes, but at the same time, it loses some of the freshness and drinkability it had initially, acquiring characteristics of a great dessert wine for contemplation. Vernaccia, with moderate aging, maintains a certain freshness and an alcohol level not too high, between 15% and 15.5% vol, with greater drinkability and simultaneously is easier to pair.
The current production capacity of the vineyard is 300 hectares, while in the 1970s it was between 2500-3000 hectares. In the 1980s, there was a collapse of Vernaccia, due to a series of factors: a change in consumption styles, the introduction of numerous alternative products on the market, the growth of Vermentino, and government policies favoring the removal of vines, etc.; this led to a loss of approximately 80% of the production over a span of 10-15 years. As Mauro Contini, one of the owners of the winery of the same name along with his cousin Alessandro, and President of the Consorzio di Tutela e Valorizzazione del Vino Vernaccia di Oristano DOC, tells us.
The salvation of Vernaccia has been the attachment of the companies to this product.
With great difficulty, they have progressed in gaining greater awareness of the value of the product, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Vernaccia wine is a complicated wine; if it was previously a mass wine consumed primarily locally, it can no longer be so because tastes have changed, and attention must be focused on national and international markets. It is already highly appreciated in the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and Japan.
The Consortium was born from the awareness that an important wine like Vernaccia cannot be carried forward solely by individual companies, but must be supported by an independent body that coordinates communication and promotional activities, as well as oversees the correct use of the name and work practices. Recently, the companies in the production area have started to engage in dialogue.
To the constitution of the Vernaccia Ecomuseum
Located in Tramatza, they found the motivation for the birth of the Consortium, which aims to control and self-regulate in the spirit of enhancing a territory and a millenary vine that deserves to be known and especially tasted.
