Monday 18 September 

This area in the south west corner of the island,known as Sulchis, has a very distinctive and long history of unusual wines. We started learning about these at Cantina Mesa, with Luca Fontana, brand ambassador. After showing us the extraordinary black polished marble interior of a very large and striking modern winery, he took us in a monster four wheel drive for a tour of their sights.

It was a terrific introduction and the young owner of the vehicle clearly enjoyed chaffeuring us as much as our host enjoyed showing us a business and its vineyards and environs, in which he has a 40% holding, having sold the rest to a large corporate partner. 

After a tasting in the winery in yet another shiny black room on a shiny black table, he drove is to La Peschiera at Porto Pino for an extraordinary lunch of very particular fish and crustacean starters fished locally and cooked in the traditional way; no menu, just a list. Terrific. …..

After lunch Luca headed off at some speed in his own car, waving farewell energetically as we drove by the winery. By his own admission, he was very market-driven, but also knowledgeable and informed. He originally comes from Sud Tyrol, and worked in Milano.

We set off Cantina Santadi for an appointment at 15.00. This is a huge cooperative  whose commitment to barriques reflects the influence of Giacomo Tachis, the twentieth century transformer of Italian wine-making in parts of Tuscany. It seems he had a great affection for Sardinia and his contribution here to a Cantina Sociale was remarkable, and still dominates. The Cantina has 3000 barriques. 

The tasting was well done, and our host Leonardo was very competent and thorough, and we left feeling that these two thriving businesses had taught us alot. 

We had an anxious time in the early evening as we drove east from Sulcis in the south west. The car was diesel, and suddenly the gauge had dropped. Google is not entirely reliable on the whereabouts of gas stations, and several had clearly fallen out of use. 

As we arrived in Decimomannu, a suburb just to the northwest of the Cagliari conurbation, in the early evening, a helpful petrol station attendant (note: servito is always preferable to self-serve) delivered the news that our persistent warning light was not telling us that we were out of screen wash but out of an ingredient which helps clean up diesel particles, and if not replenished the car will simply not start…. 

Having refuelled, the diesel anxiety abated, but it was immediately replaced by the AdBlu worry, and then compounded by an appalling road intersection en route to our bed and breakfast.

The google map above gives you an idea. A two lane dual carriageway is intersected (twice) not by a flyover, or roundabouts, or even traffic lights. Those white roads (via Sperate, SS130dir) don’t go under (or over) the highway; instead, to travel north, you take life in your hands and cross two fast-moving eastward lanes; perch on an unmarked dirt track in between until there’s a simultaneous gap in both equally fast westward lanes, and then foot down and hope for the best. 

We managed; but I vowed we’d never attempt it again. I described it in a text as

‘ a road not to die for but to die on…spent most of supper trying to find a route back to the B & B that doesn’t involve a dreadful, lethal and chaotic intersection……’ and I still stand by what may sound histrionic.

The B&B was – of course – outside this hideous ring road, down narrow roads of strange strung out, heavily fenced small houses and small-holdings. It reminded me of Sardinia and Greece, inland. Grim! 

Our hostess, Francesca could not have been more attentive; the room though small was perfectly adequate and the air-conditioning worked. There was a bath – and better still – a plug! Breakfast was modest; the bananas helped but they didn’t appear again in the three days we were there. 

That evening, after a grumpy phone call to SicilybyCar, we were able to use the beastly road to regain the town (an old family trick of only turning – in this case – right) to achieve Francesca’s cousin (or was it brother-in-law?)’s restaurant which was up equally inaccessible tiny roads, having tried first to buy the AdBlu from the helpful garage man, but it was closed. Tensions mounted.

It had been an exhausting day with two many demanding elements. We limped home from the strange, empty restaurant via narrow roads tourists would never use through this sinister hinterland. So far the car was still operational. But for how long? 

Tuesday 19 September        

The remaining four visits were all surprisingly close together (there is a reason! read on..) to the northeast of Cagliari around Serdiana and achieved by heading north east through the town of La Sperata with which we became very familiar! We left the B&B at 08.20 and made it to a very friendly garage there where we found a helpful man who explained the function of the additive, and why it is sold in 20 litre bottles.

 It is a legal requirement for all diesel vehicles in the EU, and has been since 2015. Lorries and buses have always used it. There is a dedicated cap for it alongside that of the diesel fuel… we live and learn. He and his wife who issued the necessary receipt were delightful. Our spirits rose. I felt like Bunyan’s Pilgrim did when his burden rolled away! 

The rest of the day unfolded beautifully, and we arrived at Pala Vini at 09.02 to meet Fabio who gave us a wonderful tour of their vineyards while the agronomist explained the dusty limestone soils, the dramatic landscape, the winds and the impact of the sea which we could both see and feel, and provided masses of detailed info for David.

We moved on promptly to nearby Argiolas at 11.00, a prosperous family business which had grown and grown, and from which different generations have flourished and spread.  

The buildings seemed very compact but it the depth and scale were very striking. We were shown round the enormous plant which went deep into the ground, and whose concrete tanks and the barricaia were huge.

The bottle labels were eye-catching…

In the afternoon we visited Audarya, the creation of another member of the Argiolas family, where Chiara Viola showed us around. This contemporary project is still in the making, and already has a distinctive feel; a deep concern for nature, and an affection for other forms of life in addition to the vine – and including the fantastical – as the following slide show demonstrates:

San Sperata, through which we drove to return tour B & B, has a special place in our affections.

We ate well in its very ordinary Pizzeria, but not before we had visited the local cultural highspot – a museum based around the sculptures of a local man, whose work is now famous for its music. There are frequent demonstrations of the music of these extraordinary creations, and we joined a group as the light began to fade, to listen to the explanation by a very charming guide:

Wednesday 20 September 

All these wineries are to the east of La Sperate near Serdiana, so the B&B is well-placed (or rather well-chosen) and we once again spurned the lethal junction as we travelled to Antonella Corda for 09.00. A shy woman, perhaps in her late 30s with a small daughter making life more complicated; she is a granddaughter of one of the Argiolas twins so this is the third winery of the family!

This winery was built in 2003; she was in Pisa for her eneology or agronomy studies in 2010, and has created beautiful wines, which we tasted after visiting both the Vermentino and Cannonau vineyards with her. They are in very pebbly, even cobbly fields at around 150m above sea level where we also enjoyed some beautifully ripe wild figs growing alongside the beautiful vines.

Antonella recommended AdA in La Sperate and booked lunch for us. After a slow start (floor washing!) we had a fabulous meal including fillets of a special beef (Mèlota?) with balsamic or cannonau sauces. 

At 15.45 we set off for the Porto area of Cagliari where Chiara had said we should park – as did the Rough Guide; the station carpark in fact. It was a close, humid, hot afternoon which eventually gave way to rapid if brief downpours; by 22.30 we were driving back in heavy rain and dramatic thunder and lightning. Finally the heat had broken – on the eve of our departure!

 Cagliari is a huge port with a vast lagoon (Stagna) as its hinterland. The old parts of the city sit astride the high rock plateau which people have inhabited from well before the Romans, and its high buildings and narrow streets create a sinister environment which encloses the Duomo, the University, the hospital, and within what was the Arsenale, the new archeological museum, the art gallery and many other gates, galleries and churches. 

The shops, the bars and restaurants populate the areas around Via Roma which surrounds the lower gates. After walking up the the citadel’s highest points on this unpleasantly sultry and hot afternoon, and then down again, I was glad of the outdoor seats of a bar with a football screen (Milano v ? ) which D enjoyed watching over a couple of zero-alcohol beers and several bottles of water.

By eight o’clock the rain had started but we chanced a 15 minute walk in the wrong direction over slippy wet flagstones greasy after a scorchingly hot summer to the Enoteca Conkta where we enjoyed some delicious antipasti and a curious Nebbiolo from Gallura, before beating the rain storm to the car. The skies all around were lit by fearsome flashes of lightning and impressive thunder as we drove home, along the beastly SP 130 towards Decimomannu, where mercifully, we only needed to turn right to leave that dreadful road.

Thursday 21 September 

We left Le Terre Cotte at around 10.20 after a slow start, largely the result of a very restless night, as David tried unsuccessfully to get comfortable. Our hostess was as attentive as ever, showing us and the newly french couple photos of her two sons; one very sturdy, the other very Sardinian; and waiting patiently for us to vacate her little room. 

We chose to drive to Cagliari via the now familiar La Sperate to avoid the badly designed Deccimannu road, David stopping at its Coop to buy more nuts, before joining the more up to date SS131 and its clear airport signage. Diesel filling went smoothly at the pre-airport station, though finding Sicily By Car proved tricky. Third time lucky: head for Arrivals, past first rental offerings, and then sharp right. Took awhile to escape the carpark! Signage is very poor…

Check-in was surprisingly quick, and we shared a €19 lunch – the best yet! Salmon, vegetables galore and delicious trefolie. Security was quick; boarding slow. Left Cagliari at 13.40 on Easyjet, heading for Gatwick; only 20 minutes late ! 

And for once the trains ran smoothly and we were home by 20.00!