Monica di Cagliari is a southern wine DOC in Sardinia, based around the town of Cagliari and the eponymous province of which it is the administrative center. It was introduced as a DOC in June 1972, at roughly the same time as its cousin Malvasia di Cagliari.
As implied by the name, the key grape variety from which Monica di Cagliari wines are made is the Sardinian curiosity Monica. This is grown almost nowhere else in the world, but has flourished here for centuries. Currently, the high yields permitted under DOC laws mean there is little incentive to discover the variety's true potential for high-quality wines.
Although Cagliari's name is part of this DOC, the catchment area from which the grapes may come extends into the Oristano province, more famously associated with Vernaccia di Oristano. This creates quite a large production zone, covering a large proportion of the island's southern half.
The Monica di Cagliari Liquoroso wines are a sweeter, fortified variant of the wines and typically reach an alcoholic strength of between 17.5% (the legal minimum) and 20% alcohol by volume. There is also a dry version of these fortified wines. After a standard affinamento obbligatorio (obligatory ageing period) of nine months, wine destined to be riserva is aged in barrels for a required minimum of two years. This creates intensely sweet, flavorful wine best matched to desserts, particularly those involving baked fruits, coffee or dark chocolate.
Malvasia di Cagliari is one of several DOCs covering specific varietal wine styles from Cagliari. There is now no single Cagliari DOC, but several varietal DOCs for which the grapes come exclusively from the Cagliari province: Giro di Cagliari, Malvasia di Cagliari, Monica di Cagliari, Moscato di Cagliari, Nasco di Cagliari and Nuragus di Cagliari.
