Sella & Mosca

Sella & Mosca was founded in 1899 by two Piedmontese, the engineer Erminio Sella and the lawyer Edgardo Mosca, who came to Sardinia on business and stayed. The estate at Alghero in the north-west is one of the largest contiguous vineyards in Europe.

Sardinia's grapes came with its rulers. Cannonau is the same variety as Grenache and arrived under Aragonese rule, though Sardinians have long argued it went the other way; Vermentino came from Liguria and Spain. The island's dry heat, constant wind and poor soils suit both, and Vermentino di Gallura in the granite hills of the north-east is Sardinia's only DOCG.

The estate is also known for its archaeology: a Nuragic necropolis dating from around 1600 BC sits within the vineyards and is open to visitors. Sella & Mosca were among the first to make Sardinian wine in a modern idiom and remain by some distance the island's most recognised name.