Cantine Neoneli

Sardinia is not just an island — it is a continent of stories, traditions, and identities. A rugged and beautiful land, bathed by crystal-clear seas and sculpted by the wind, that has proudly safeguarded its soul for centuries. The Sardinian people have always defended their roots with pride — a heritage that lives on in their dialects, songs, costumes, and above all, in their flavors.

It was in this context that, thanks to a dear friend from San Pantaleo, I discovered a wine I had never heard of before: Omèstica, produced by the small Cantine di Neoneli in the Oristano area. A name that may mean little to many, because this wine isn’t found everywhere — it doesn’t seek attention and doesn’t conform to the logic of the global market. It is a Sardinian wine for Sardinians, a secret handed down and guarded like a precious gem

Because “there had never been a real winery in Neoneli” — except for a cooperative one. No one here had ever planted vineyards with the idea of producing wine to sell. “Wine had always been a domestic culture,” a communal ritual, a shared heritage to be passed down.

After all, this is not a village like any other. Out of just over 600 inhabitants, at least 120 make wine at home — a community that has always considered the vineyard an integral part of its identity.

The winery was founded with exactly this spirit: to continue a story that belongs not only to the three partners, but to the entire village.

In the premises of an old converted pasta factory, one can still breathe the same passion that inspired the grandparents and great-grandparents of Neoneli. Their wines do not seek to follow trends, but to preserve the memory of a unique land — paying tribute to that Sardinia that reveals itself without filters, pure and genuine.

Listening to them, you can immediately sense the spirit of experimentation that drives Samuel, Salvatore, and Marco. The 24 plots that make up the 9 hectares are vinified separately — an approach that elsewhere would be considered pure madness. In the various vineyards, more than ten grape varieties coexist, planted together in a mosaic that forces the three partners to carry out as many as five or six separate harvests, patiently waiting for each grape to reach its perfect ripeness. The vineyards are organically farmed, with the soil worked only by the strength of oxen and the hands of these men, in an almost ritual respect for nature.

We go to visit some of the plots, because words can convey much, but seeing and touching with your own hands is something entirely different. “The vineyards here are guests in these forests,” Samuel tells us. The scorching heat is softened by the ever-blowing wind, and the dry soil crumbles between your fingers while these old vines, with their quiet strength, struggle to survive — a resilience that, without needing words, conveys the profound intensity of this place.

It is while driving along the hidden paths of the maquis surrounding the vineyards that we are led to an old stazzu, a stone refuge that preserves the flavor of Sardinian hospitality. There, waiting for us, was a lunch that was a true declaration of love for tradition: roasted suckling pig, cured meats of unparalleled delicacy, fragrant bread, and wines that spoke the language of the land.

Under the branches of centuries-old olive trees surrounding us, we all sat around a wooden table: three generations united by the same glass, watching my every reaction with curiosity, as if trying to read in my eyes the surprise that each sip evoked. It was a celebration of honesty, a suspended moment in which wine became a bond, and the Sardinian language — spoken without restraint, as if I could understand it — provided the musical backdrop to an unforgettable day.

Melavaxia is a white wine that carries the scent of quiet mornings and breezes caressing the hills. Born from Nuragus, a grape here known by its ancient name, it grows among old bush-trained vineyards on granite soils, on hills between 450 and 550 meters in altitude. On the nose, it offers aromas of Mediterranean herbs, delicate white flowers, subtle citrus notes, and a fresh hint of apple. On the palate, it is generous and soft, with a surprising persistence: it does not yield to conformity, but remains authentic, with a thread of salinity and minerality that makes you realize you have arrived in a true place, one that never forgets its roots.

Canales is the signature wine of Neoneli. A red born from the embrace of small bush-trained vineyards, almost hidden among the curves of the hills, where each row preserves ancient varieties mixed together. In the glass, it reveals a mosaic: ripe red fruits, wild herbs, and balsamic notes that rise like the scent of earth after rain. It is full-bodied yet unobtrusive, powerful yet capable of delicate elegance: each sip is a call to memory, a bridge between past and present, between effort, hope, and the future. Canales is not just wine: it is the soul of a community that has learned to cultivate dreams alongside the vine.