Jerzu
Antichi Poderi di Jerzu
0.6 km off the line · Tastings from €25 · 45 minutes
View winerySardinia · Wine route · 2 days
Strada del Cannonau Two days across eastern Sardinia on the Cannonau trail the island's tourism board publishes. Jerzu's limestone terraces and the port at Tortolì come first, then the Supramonte road to Oliena's Nepente and the granite bush vines of Mamoiada.
135
km end to end
2
days
4
stops, Jerzu to Mamoiada
1
denomination crossed
€25
tastings from
Why this drive: Cannonau is Grenache with a Sardinian accent, and the villages on this road make it three different ways. Jerzu grows it on limestone terraces above the Ogliastra coast. Oliena grows it under the Supramonte and calls it Nepente. Mamoiada grows it as century-old bush vines on granite, worked by hand, and bottles the island's most serious reds from them. Between the villages you drive the SS 125, the mountain road along the east coast, and you meet more sheep than cars. No other Italian wine road is this empty.
The route, drawn
2 days, drawn in two colours
Tap a day in the legend to bring its legs forward. The map follows as you scroll the stops, and a press on any marker jumps to it.
Layers
Day 1
Day 2
Numbered stops
Estates near the route
Stop 1 of 4 · Jerzu
Day 1
Day 1 · Jerzu to Tortolì: Ogliastra
1
Stop 1 · The terraced village
Jerzu
A village on a limestone ledge above the Ogliastra, one of the three named subzones of Cannonau di Sardegna, and the start of the published trail.
What to taste here
- Cannonau di SardegnaDOC Jerzu is one of the DOC's three named subzones; Cinquesse and Bantu are the cooperative's Cannonau to compare
- OgliastraIGT The Ogliastra label for the wines made outside the DOC rules
Antichi Poderi di Jerzu, the cooperative at Via Umberto I 1, sells three tastings online: 45 minutes for 25 euros, an hour for 35 and a 90-minute walk through the old cellar for 40. The Sagra del Vino takes over the village from 1 to 8 August 2026.
Where to taste
Antichi Poderi di Jerzu
Tastings from €25 · 45 minutes
Booking required
Wines to Try
A few wines from the estates above.
2
Stop 2 · The port and the red rocks
Tortolì
The Ogliastra's main town, with the port of Arbatax and the red porphyry rocks beside it, where the trail meets the sea.
What to taste here
- Cannonau di SardegnaDOC Grown almost at sea level here, lighter than the mountain villages' wines
- Vermentino di SardegnaDOC The white for the port, with the day's fish
The Rocce Rosse stand east of the Arbatax harbour, with Cala Moresca behind them. The Civitavecchia ferry docks here. Fill the tank and stock up before the mountain road north.
Day 2 · Oliena to Mamoiada: Barbagia
3
Stop 3 · Nepente under the Supramonte
Oliena
The village under the Supramonte whose Cannonau, Nepente di Oliena, is a named subzone of the DOC and the wine D'Annunzio praised in 1909.
What to taste here
- Cannonau di SardegnaDOC Nepente di Oliena is the subzone D'Annunzio praised in 1909; Corrasi is the cooperative's Riserva
- BarbagiaIGT The Barbagia label the mountain growers use outside the DOC
Cantina Oliena, Via Nuoro 112, is the cooperative founded in 1950; Corrasi is its Riserva. The Su Gologone spring and restaurant are 9 km east under the mountain. Nepentes, on 6 June 2026, opens the old cellars of the centre.
Where to eat
Spit-roast meats, carasau bread and handmade pasta
Su Gologone. Località Su Gologone, at the spring below the Supramonte, 9 km east of the village. Book the restaurant by WhatsApp on +39 0784 287512.
4
Stop 4 · Bush vines on granite
Mamoiada
The village of the Mamuthones masks and of old bush-vine Cannonau on granite, the end of the trail.
What to taste here
- Cannonau di SardegnaDOC Bush vines on granite at 500 to 800 metres; Sedilesu's Mamuthone is the bottle to start with
- Granazza The village's own white grape, about 5 percent of the vines; ask for it
- BarbagiaIGT Where a grower's Cannonau steps outside the DOC, it wears this label
Giuseppe Sedilesu, Via Vittorio Emanuele II 64, grows almost all Cannonau and a little Granazza at 500 to 800 metres. Tastings and a seasonal table by reservation. The masks museum on Piazza Europa opens 10 to 18, closed Tuesdays.
Where to eat
A seasonal Mamoiada table at the cellar
Cantina Giuseppe Sedilesu. Via Vittorio Emanuele II 64, in the village. A seasonal menu with the estate's wines, and a tapas-style table for ten or more, both by reservation on +39 0784 56791.
Before you go
The practicalities
Visit prices are set by the winery and availability should be checked before travelling. Bookings open on the estate page or the provider's site.
When to go
Harvest in October, masks in January
Harvest runs from late September into October, when the Mamoiada bush vines are picked by hand. Jerzu's Sagra del Vino, the 45th, fills the village from 1 to 8 August 2026. Oliena opens its old cellars for Nepentes on 6 June 2026. Mamoiada's Mamuthones come out on 16 and 17 January for Sant'Antonio and again at carnival, 22 to 26 February 2027. The masks museum on Piazza Europa opens 10 to 18, last entry 17.30, and closes on Tuesdays. The Civitavecchia ferry to Arbatax runs all year.
Booking reality
Jerzu books online, Mamoiada by email
One estate on this drive books online in our records. Antichi Poderi di Jerzu, the cooperative at Via Umberto I, sells three tastings through its own portal: 45 minutes for 25 euros, an hour for 35 and a 90-minute cellar walk for 40. Giuseppe Sedilesu at Mamoiada offers tastings from two wines to all ten and a seasonal table, by email or on +39 0784 56791. Cantina Oliena, the 1950 cooperative on Via Nuoro, takes visits by phone. Book a week ahead in August.
Driving notes
Fuel at Tortolì, then the mountain road
The trail is the itinerary the Sardinian tourism board publishes, 125 km from Jerzu to Mamoiada, not a signed road; navigate by village. From Tortolì the SS 125 Orientale Sarda climbs north over the Supramonte past Baunei and Urzulei to Dorgali, then a short road drops west to Oliena. It is the finest stretch of road on the island and the slowest: allow an hour and a half without stops. Fill up in Tortolì, because there is no fuel on the mountain. None of the four villages has a restricted zone. In summer the SS 125 carries campervans, so start the mountain leg early.
Getting a car
Ferry to Arbatax, or fly to Olbia
Bring the car on the boat or hire it at an airport. Grimaldi Lines sails Civitavecchia to Arbatax overnight, two or three times a week all year, and Arbatax is five minutes from Tortolì. Flying, Cagliari and Olbia airports are both about two hours twenty from Tortolì by car. At the end, Mamoiada is an hour and forty minutes from Olbia airport and nearly three hours from Cagliari, so plan the flight home from Olbia.
Leave the driving out
Do this route with a guide
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Tours in this wine area
Nearby, not the route itself
Wine experience in Dorgali in the heart of the Cannonau Classica area
Discover the food and wine experience of our family-run winery in the center of Sardinia, in the countryside of Dorgali.
2 hours
From €56
Book via
Wine tasting in Mamoiada Cannonau from historic vineyards
Come live an authentic experience in a family-run winery, with tasting of artisan wines produced from ancient vineyards. The meeting takes place in our underground cel...
1 hour 30 minutes
From €32
Book via
Before you ask
Strada del Cannonau, answered
No. The Strada del Vino Cannonau association covers seventeen villages around Nuoro and the Ogliastra. The Sardinian tourism board publishes the drive as Jerzu, Tortolì, Oliena and Mamoiada: 125 km and about two and a half hours of driving. There are no brown signs, so navigate by village. The mountain link is the SS 125 Orientale Sarda.
About two and a half hours of driving in all. It is 35 minutes from Jerzu to Tortolì, an hour and a half over the mountains to Oliena, and half an hour on to Mamoiada. With a cellar visit in Jerzu, the red rocks at Arbatax and a night at Oliena, it is two easy days.
Only at Jerzu with luck. Antichi Poderi di Jerzu sells its three tastings online through its own portal, so book there. Giuseppe Sedilesu at Mamoiada asks for an email or a call, and Cantina Oliena takes visits by phone. In August, book everything a week ahead.
None of the four villages has a restricted zone, so park in the village. At Tortolì, the port car parks at Arbatax serve the ferry and the red rocks. At Mamoiada, the masks museum is on Piazza Europa, at the centre of the village.
Late September and October, for the harvest and the empty roads. June brings Nepentes at Oliena on the 6th, and the first week of August brings Jerzu's Sagra del Vino, from 1 to 8 August 2026. January is for the Mamuthones, on the 16th and 17th, and carnival falls on 22 to 26 February 2027.
The Cannonau of Oliena, and one of the DOC's three named subzones, covering the whole of Oliena and part of Orgosolo. The name comes from Gabriele D'Annunzio, who wrote in 1909 asking whether his readers did not know the Nepente of Oliena even by reputation. Cantina Oliena, the village cooperative founded in 1950, bottles it under that name.
About 350 hectares of vines, 95 percent Cannonau, planted as bush vines on granite between 500 and 800 metres, some of them a century old and still worked with oxen. The rest is Granazza, the village's own white grape. The village is also home of the Mamuthones, the black-masked carnival figures, with a museum on Piazza Europa.
Because the published itinerary goes Jerzu, Tortolì, Oliena, Mamoiada, and Dorgali is not on it. You drive through it anyway: the SS 125 passes Dorgali 21 km before Oliena. The Dorgali cooperative and the Cala Gonone coves are a detour of an hour if you want them.
Grimaldi Lines sails Civitavecchia to Arbatax overnight, two or three times a week all year, usually Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, in about nine to ten hours. Arbatax is the port of Tortolì. Otherwise fly to Cagliari or Olbia and drive about two hours twenty to Tortolì.
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