Region: Sardinia

Zone:

Alghero DOC

Alghero, located in the Northwestern part of Sardinia, was previously one of the so-called seven royal cities of Sardinia . It was founded in the 12th century by the Genovese Doria family, but it was conquered by Spaniards, more specifically by the Catalans, in 1353. In 1720, it was no longer under Spanish occupation, the Piedmont family Savoia or Casa Savoia taking control of the city.

Alghero never lost its Spanish-Catalan traditions and language. For example, the street names are still in Catalan.

Alghero in an exceptionally beautiful town, surrounded by medieval walls and watchtowers, full of Catalan Gothic churches. A Saracen tower dominates the surrounding harbor and there are wonderful beaches and caves in the area. Visit, for instance, the famous Neptune’s Grotto or, a few hundred meters North, Nereos Grotte and more.

Alghero DOC was, for a relatively short period of time, the main production zone in Sardinia. The zone is dominated by the Sella&Mosca winery, which is seen everywhere in the area; despite the large quantities, their wines are still of high quality.

The soil in the area ranges from being of volcanic origin, sandy, and rocky, to reddish limestone. The climate is dry and hot, offering wines very different in nature. The growing conditions are actually so ideal that there are limitations on harvesting in other to preserve the quality.

One of Sardinia’s worst-kept secrets is that the most interesting wines are IGT and not necessarily DOC classified. If you come to the island, you are welcome to test the theory.

Sardinia has 19 DOC and one DOCG type. Additionally, as we mentioned, there are a number of very interesting IGT wines, which we will further describe in the Italian wine guide.

Of the interesting wines in Alghero we should mention Alghero Cagnulari DOC, a ruby red wine made from a local grape variety.

Read more about the wines from Alghero DOC by clicking i the top menu in the right side.