Types of Red Wine
How Do they Differ?

Types of red wine produced in Sardinia in the winery Jerzu Antichi Poderi.

Now if you have read the page Types of Wines you will understand when I say "yet again I went to stress the wine expert Gianni in our local winery".

I wanted to find out exactly what made all the red wines in their brochure different.

I 'm not quite sure if he was pleased to see me or he thought she's back again!

In any case he was very helpful.

The question I asked was “How can all the red wines be different if they are all practically made with the same types of grapes”.

I have selected three types of red wines, one from each different wine style.

Hopefully to help you understand how the slightest difference in the wine making process can have an enormous transformation on the wines.

The types of red wines I will be looking at are;

Although he chart shows many similarities between the threes types of red wines. There are some slight differences that have significant effects on the red wines.

I will go through each of these differences and explain the effects they have on the finished wine,

Wine Style	Superior	1st Seleciton	Base
Name of Red Wine	Josto Miglior	Cannonau di Sardegna D.O.C Rosso	Alustia I.G.T Rosso
Varietal	Cannonau	Cannonau	Cannonau
Vine Age	Oldest vines, at least 20 years old	Vines within the Jerzu District	All Vines in the Jerzu District
Vine Location	Best Selected Hillsides of Jerzu	Hill side in Jerzu District	All Locations
Max Yield per Hectare	80 Quintals	110 Qunitals	110 Qunitals
Type of Harvesting	Stackable Crates	Buckets	Buckets
Whole Process Monitored by Agronomist	YES	NO	NO
Maceration	7-9 Days	7-9 Days	7-9 Days
Size of Toasted Oak Barrel	225 Litres	20,000 Litres	No Wood
Time of Aging	2 Years	2-3 Months	N/A
Alcohol Volume	14% Vol	13.5% Vol	12% Vol

Vine Location and Age

There is an Italian proverb which fits the explanation of why an old vine is selected for the production of the most prestigious types of red wines. I have tried to find an English proverb that says the same without any luck so I have translated the Italian one;

“An Old Chicken Makes a Good Broth”

The older vines produce a higher quality grape.

Although the district of Jerzu is quite small as you can see from the map. Its territory is made up of a variety of different landscapes; mountains, hills, valleys and plains.

Monitoring

When a wine is of superior quality, an important fact that differentiates them to table wines is the fact that the whole process is monitored by an agronomist (an agricultural scientist).

This on its own tells us how all the parameters of every single stage in the wine process are studied for the most perfect results possible.

Size of Oak Barrels

The size of the oak barrel effects the intensity of the naturals scents that are transmitted to the wine. The smaller the barrels the more instense are the results.

Time of Aging

Aging is the necessary time a wine needs to mature to reach its best. The types of red wines that have Riserva on the Italian wine labels are not allowed to be put on the shelves until 2 years after the year of production. The wine is  oaked for a required minimum of 6 months. Whether or not they stay in the barrels for longer or not depends on

• The wine and the results desired


• Whether the barrels are new or used.

New barrels give off a more intense flavour. Therefore the time the wines stays in a new barrel will be shorter than a used barrel. This process is carefully monitored as the wine doesn't benefit from being oaked more than necessary on the contrary it may spoil it.

Cannonau Riserva types of red wines after being bottled will continue to mature. They reach their best around the 3rd to 4th year after the vintage year.

The 1st Selection wine and Base wine (in the chart) are ready to drink in June of the following year of production.

Nose Taste and Flavour

I have to admit that I haven't tasted each one of these red wines. Even if I did, being no expert, I wouldn't be able to taste the difference.

These types of red wines have been tasted by professional Sommelier . If you would like to take a look at how these wines are describe; just click on the names.

• “Josto Miglior” Cannonau di Sardegna D.O.C Rosso Riserva  14% Vol


• Cannonau di Sardegna D.O.C Rosso  13.5%


• “Alustia” I.G.T Rosso 12% Vol

A curious article I came across though, on the internet, talked about blind tasting wines.

What was more curious were the results.

This information hopefully has helped to understand how the different wine making processes influence the style and classification of the red wine types.

But! Who is it that decides which is the best red wine?

I believe it all boils down to taste...you either like or you don't!

Of course there are many other types of red wine made in Sardinia...

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