Cannonau is the main red grape on the Italian island Sardegna; it's the same as grenache, but harder to pronounce. Grenache makes soft and spicy wines, which means they're neither tannic nor acidic—just juicy, fruity, and peppery.

Tasting Notes: Cannonau (Cardedu uses old spelling with one ‘N’) is a biotype of Grenache, most likely from Spain but growing in Sardegna for hundreds of years. Spice and smoke mingle with fleshy fruit of red plums and raspberries. Cadedu’s old vines (avg. 25-50 years old) provide a depth to the fruit, decomposed granite soils keep the wines fresh. Pair with all things grilled.

Estate History: Sergio Loi is a 4th generation traditional Sardinian producer, whose family winery from the early 900s has always practiced no chemical farming and minimum intervention in the cellar. The Cardedu [car-DAY-do] vineyards are located on the island’s sparsely populated Southeast, on crumbling granite soils near the coast, and schist in the ragged-dry hills and cliffs around Jerzu.