Carignano del Sulcis is an Italian wine DOC of Sardinia, introduced in June 1977. It is reserved exclusively for red and rose wines made from Carignan, or Carignano as it is known here, grown in the very south-western corner of the island. This characterful variety arrived in Sardinia either via Provence or eastern Spain – the island has long-established trade routes with southern France, latterly via Corsica, and was ruled by the Spanish house of Aragon during the late Middle Ages and into the Rennaissance period.
Sulcis is a coastal zone around the modern-day Sant'Antioco, a city founded by the Phoenicians and known then by the name Solki, which eventually became Sulcis. It includes the island of Sant-Antioco, Italy's fourth-largest island (after Sicily, Elba and Sardinia itself), which is connected to the mainland by a causeway and bridge. A respectable number of vines are grown on the island, particularly in its north-eastern corner between Sant-Antioco and Calasetta towns. Here, the northern end of the Gulf of Palmas separates the island from the Sardinian mainland and provides a cooling influence for Sardinia's most southerly vines. At a latitude of 38 degrees north, this is one of the more equatorial viticultural regions in Europe, parallel with Murcia in southern Spain, Alentejo in Portugal and Calabria on the Italian mainland.
Carignano del Sulcis wine can come from any one or more of 18 specified communes, almost all of which are in the Carbonia-Iglesias province. The catchment area spreads into the Cagliari province, most notably around Teulada, but the vast majority of the grapes are grown closer to Sulcis itself.
These red and rose wines come in aged riserva, superiore, early-drinking novello and dried-grape passito forms, although there is no fortified liquoroso variant as with many other Sardinian wine DOCs (such as Giro di Cagliari). The riserva wines undergo two years of ageing, at least six months of which must be in bottle; the latter requirement is reduced to three months for the standard red wines. To claim that it is superiore, a wine must be made from grapes grown on vines trained in the traditional bush-vine style known as Alberello Latino. The rosato (rose) and novello forms need only reach a final alcoholic strength of 11% alcohol by volume, a full 1.5% lower than the more serious wines.
To qualify as passito, a wine from this DOC must be made from naturally dried grapes, crushed between 10 October and 31 March after harvest. These wines are also subject to ageing requirements before release, in this case nine months (starting from 1 May after harvest), of which three months must be in bottle. They must also reach a minimum alcohol content of 16% alcohol by volume.
