Cannonau

Cannonau

Admittedly, it sounds crazy. But somehow it has something. It's all about growing old. Or rather, it's about a study on growing old, conducted on so-called supercentenarians. These are people who live to be a hundred years old or more without too many ailments.

The stronghold of old men is Sardinia. And in the middle of the action, i.e. in the discussion about a really long life, is - who would be surprised - the wine. Not just any wine, but the Sardinian wine, the Cannonau. Sardinia is the world's undisputed leader in the number of male inhabitants over the age of one hundred. This, in turn, has prompted the Sardinian University of Sassari to investigate possible causes for these Solomonic ages. The research project was appropriately named "AkeA" - the abbreviation for "a kent annos", which in Sardinian means "to a hundred years", a popular greeting on the streets of the island. And research director Luca Deiana, a young man of 72 and professor of biomedicine at the same university, found what he was looking for. Listen and be amazed: Prof. Deiana was able to prove a close connection between wine consumption and longevity in his study, the correlation was high and the effect was not due to the wine per se, but to the exceptional Cannonau grape.

It has an above-average proportion of antioxidants, which has a positive or cushioning effect on cell aging. The Italian media were not the only ones to hype the study results and this salient argument for Sardinian wine consumption. If you now think you've hardly heard of Cannonau, you may be mistaken. The Sardinian island grape is genetically practically identical to the Grenache grape variety known in France. With over 10,000 hectares of vineyards, it is one of the most important red grape varieties in Sardinia. But it is not only popular there; in fact, it ranks among the top five cultivars worldwide, as Grenache Noire in France or Garnacha in Spain. And to make it even more confusing, in Tuscany it can also be found under the name Alicante.

The grape is also very popular in the New World, particularly in Australia, California and Argentina, where it is planted with preference. As a wine, it keeps it similar to the islanders: rarely opulent or loud, rather robust and without big frippery. One holds it in such a way as at the Costa Smeralda: One leaves the large Blingbling rather to the tourists. The wine is mostly red, white wines are rare. In terms of color, the wine is light in color and also tends to be low in tannins and soft, but high in alcohol. This makes way for fruit sweetness with aromas of berries and plums. With low yields or under extreme climatic conditions, Cannonau can also provide exceptionally storable and concentrated red wines. Strong arguments for the Cannonau, right? Well then, here's to your health or just. A kent annos!