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Menhir, Tombs of
the Giants and Nuraghis place the
origins of Monti somewhere in the New
Stone Age (6000 B.C.). After the
Nuraghic age, the area came under
control of the Romans, opposed by the
fearsome warrior tribes of the Bālari,
who from the Limbara range threatened
the route to Olbia, a strategic port for
produce on its way to Rome.
In the fourth century, Sardinia passed
under Byzantine rule. In that period,
Monti exploited its rich natural
resources: strawberry tree fruit, honey,
myrtle, and cork, which attracted pious
folk, pilgrims and hermits who often
elected their abode in the concas,
natural shelters in the rock face, still
visible today. In the late Middle Ages,
monastic orders also settled in the
village, starting systematic cultivation
of the grape, already introduced to
Sardinia by the Phoenicians.
The name of the village was first
mentioned in official documents back in
1603, although it only had a population
of 188 at that time. The Spanish brought
the Vermentino grape with them: in the
local soil this vine-stock found ideal
growing conditions, thanks to the thin
granite weathering soils, highly
permeable and rich in potassium. Old 'bizantteris'
grape growers tell us of cultivation
techniques: the cuttings of the new
vineyard (raglia) are planted in the
virgin, freshly levelled soil, or in
already cultivated soil left fallow for
one year.
The vineyard is cultivated as erect
shrub monoculture, spaced close together,
tended by hand, bordered by the typical
dry stone walls, and a small wooden gate,
sa jaghe.
The signature local grape, Vermentino:
native to Spain, Listan d'Andalusia
reached France - Grosse Clarette,
Alvosie d'Espagne, Piccabon - then
spread to neighbouring Liguria -
Pizzamosca, Corbesso, Vemettino - and
finally reached the shores of Corsica
and Gallura as Vermentino. Thanks to
accurate tending in the vineyard and at
the Winery, in 1975 Vermentino was
awarded the DOC label - Controlled Place
of Origin - and, later, in 1996 DOCG -
Controlled and Guaranteed Place of
Origin. . |
