Sinuous and ancient, Vernaccia is a seductive and bewitching lady with a millennial history. It was born and developed to the rhythm of the first indigenous populations of Sardinia. The origins and meaning of its name are history within history: an exotic mixture of Vernum – a Latin translation of spring and therefore rebirth, and Vernacula, meaning ‘of the place’.

The Punic people were already skilled wine-makers of this sacred nectar, as much as the land from which it derives. It is told by the archaeological finds that are the result of excavations in Tharros, the ancient coastal town of the Punic period situated a few kilometres from Oristano.

A complex, almost alchemical and provocative wine, the Vernaccia by Silvio Carta is the exact expression of this corner of an enchanted world. Ideal as a dessert wine, to dare with oysters, but also perfect with botargo and toasted bread.

Limonello, Liqu, Elicriso and Mirto are the four essences of Sardinia and our four unique specialities. But it is with myrtle liqueur, universally known as a synonym of Sardinia, that we make the maximum effort. Obtained only from berries or from berries with leaves, white or red – the recipe of this ancient liqueur has a history that is over 100 years old and peculiar to Sardinia – dating back to the early 19th century. But it is Silvio Carta’s family who enriched and improved it. In the terrible winter of 1939 – marked by frost and famine – the population of Baratili San Pietro was saved from hunger thanks to that precious and abundant fruit: the myrtle. Thus, to enhance the conservation of the berries, Elio Carta’s grandmother placed a handful of fruits in a measuring cup of Vernaccia spirit, which was already produced by the family: the myrtle-based ‘Ricetta Storica’ liqueur recipe – the ‘ultimate’ Myrtle liqueur – was born.

The history of Sardinian Gin has the charm of the forbidden. In fact, immediately after the Second World War, an intense distillation activity developed on the island, almost all of which was smuggled. Despite the risk and the fear of being discovered by the authorities, the inhabitants distilled everything the land had to offer.

In the area of ​​Oristano, Vernaccia and juniper dominated. The filu ‘e ferru was produced from the distillation of the pomaces, l’abbardenti from the wine, while the juniper spirit was called GINIU, from the Sardinian ‘Giniperu’ (juniper plant).

Since the early 1960s, when the smuggling production ended, demand faded until 2013 when the Silvio Carta company – forecasting the distilled product renaissance – decided to bet everything on the discontinuous distillation to get the best out of every raw material like juniper and Vernaccia pomaces.

This is how the company’s Gin poker (Giniu, Pigskin, Boigin, Grifu) was born, together with the refined and aged Grappe and the world’s only Brandy of Vernaccia.