Sardinia's relative isolation as an island has preserved a distinct set of grape varieties largely unrelated to mainland Italy. Vermentino thrives on its granite coastal soils, producing fresh, saline whites shaped by constant sea breezes, while Cannonau — genetically the same grape as Grenache, though locally claimed as indigenous — makes robust, sun-ripened reds, some from vines said to be among the oldest continuously cultivated Grenache in the world.

Key grapes: Vermentino, Cannonau (Grenache), Carignano