Cantine di Dolianova, Dolianova
Dolianova has been at the centre of winemaking in Sardinia for 76 years and is easily the biggest winery on the island.
Founded as a co-operative (or cantine sociale) by 35 farmers in the devastating aftermath of the Second World War, it’s kept an astonishingly detailed archive of its history, partly as an act of respect for the winegrowers who built its reputation, but also to remind this and future generations of why it’s there.
Now producing four million bottles of wine a year, and exporting to five continents, it exists to create something bigger than an individual grower could realise. The sum of their efforts has taken local wine to markets they could never reach alone, guaranteeing them a return while making an important contribution to the wider local economy.
Scale is relative, of course. Cantine di Dolianova is large by Sardinian standards, but consider that many of the wines you find on UK supermarket shelves today are produced by winemaking brands that count their bottles in the tens of billions.
Among the 300 growers, farming 1,200 hectares in southern Sardinia who contribute to the cantina’s award-winning success, are many of the children and grandchildren of the original founders – and they are proudly celebrated on the cantina’s website.
They all grow the signature varieties of Cannonau, Monica, Vermentino, Nuragus and Moscato, which thrive in the rolling terrain of the lower Campidano with its mild and moderately rainy winters alternating with hot, dry summers.
The cantine is constantly innovating, adding new wine formats and new production methods to broaden its markets. Most recently, it launched a delightful, pale pink sparkling rose made from 100 per cent Monica. That would have pleased the founding fathers.
Want to explore Cantine di Dolianova wines? You can find these to order on our site:
