Dec 4, 20244 min read

[Event Report] "Sardinia: Island of the Giants" @ Italian Embassy, Tokyo

Updated: Dec 4, 2024

On Monday, December 2, 2024, I participated in the Sardinia promotional event "Sardinia: Island of Giants," held at the Italian Ambassador's residence in Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, shortly after returning from Italy. Fortunately, the event started in the evening, so my body clock was running on Italian time.

In December, the Japanese garden at the Ambassador's Residence offered a fantastic contrast between the brilliant red and yellow leaves of the trees and the vibrant green of the evergreens. At the start of the visit, Italian Ambassador to Japan Gianluigi Benedetti introduced the history of this prestigious Japanese garden in Tokyo.

Those visiting Japan from Sardinia, this time included Massimo Carboni (Sardegna Region, Director of the Industry Division), Gianluca Caddu (Regional Planning Centre), Andrea Pisanu (Mayer of Comune of Giba) and Nicoletta Piras (Director of GAL Surcis Iglesiente), as well as a large number of Sardinians from several communes and related organizations from Cabras in the mid-west to Surcis in the southwest.

For example, the Monteprama Foundation, known for its famous megalithic monuments, is a relatively new foundation established in 2021, created by the Italian Ministry of Education, the Sardinian Region, and the city of Cabras. According to its chairman, Anthony Muroni, the world tour of the Monteprama Colossus exhibit has been a long-term exhibition for six months, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Archaeological Museum in Madrid, and is in high demand from all over the world.

I have seen the giants twice in the Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, and their size and appearance are strange and unique. The statues of the sturdy warriors, all made of white stone and with deformed faces, are somehow ignorant and praise the simple beauty of the statues.

There are apparently more than 20 of these giants traveling around art galleries and museums around the world, so the sight of all these giants lined up must be quite spectacular.

What particularly interested me at the reception was the Piedi Franco (own-rooted) Carignano red wine. The Carignano grapes, which are the source of Sardinia's elegant red wine, DOC Carignano del Sulcis, still have many own-rooted vines in this coastal area of Porto Pino in southwestern Sardinia. This means that there are vines that are alive on their own roots, including old vines, that have not been affected by the phylloxera disease that raged in the 19th and 20th centuries, and that have not been grafted with American rootstocks.

I visited the Porto Pino vineyard last April 2023, guided by a winemaker representing Sardinia and Italy. It is about a two-hour drive from Cagliari. Just a stone's throw from the blue coastline, the Carignano fields are constantly exposed to the wind, protecting the grapes from disease. In addition, the hot sand has prevented phylloxera from infecting the roots, which is why this precious Piedi Franco remains.

"The vinyards of piedi franco of Porto Pino"

Instead, the vines are kept very low and each one is very small, like a mushroom, in an "alberello" style. Because each one is independent, it is not suitable for mechanization. Because it is a very labor-intensive cultivation method, it was abandoned for a long time. However, this land has a long tradition of grape cultivation that dates back to the prehistoric Nuragic period (around 1700-700 BC), long before the birth of Christ, and later to the time when the Phoenicians and Romans roamed the land.

In order to preserve this tradition and pass it on to the next generation, there has been a movement to reevaluate Piedifranco in the past few decades in this region. I am very much looking forward to the seminar on December 6th, which will include a presentation on Le Vigne che Guardano il Mare.

The reception featured a variety of Sardinian dishes prepared by Chef Valentina Frau of ACCADEMIA ENOGASTEONOMICA and others.

All dishes are simple yet have a deep taste. The menu is as shown in the photo. For example, the Carignano Riserva goes perfectly with the Lasagnette Bianca with Bechamel Sauce and Cauliflower, garnished with Carciofi in Oil and Bottarga.

According to Massimo Podda, a wine producer from Sulcis and director of Cantina Santadi, who came to Japan from Sardinia that day, grapes have been cultivated in the Sulcis region for several thousand years. There were two types of Carignano for the tasting that day: Superiore (Grotta Rossa) and Riserva (Rocca Rubia). The last wine to be tasted was a sweet white wine from white grapes including Nasco, which is "overmatured" on the vine, which was outstanding in its depth, complexity, firm acidity, mineral structure, and rich sweetness of the grapes. It was an indescribable taste when combined with troncino (almond pastry made from caramel and egg whites) from Sardinia, where almonds are famous.

It also tastes great when paired with Pecorino Sardo, a Sardinian specialty.

It made me want to visit Sardinia again.