Where is Capichera and how do you reach it?

Capichera is on Strada Arzachena km 5, in the municipality of Arzachena, in Sassari province, north-east Sardinia. It sits about 15 minutes inland from Porto Cervo and the Costa Smeralda. The cellar stands in the Gallura wine zone, among granite outcrops and Mediterranean scrub.

Can you visit Capichera and book a tasting?

Yes, by appointment only. There are two formats. The Classic Wine Tasting covers five wines in about two hours. The Premium Tasting covers eight wines in three hours, with a guided vineyard walk and Sardinian food pairings. Both run for groups of one to eight guests. You book through the official site's scheduling system.

What wines does Capichera produce?

The range is small and built around Vermentino. Lintori is the Vermentino di Sardegna DOC. Vign'Angena is a single-vineyard Vermentino di Gallura DOCG. Two more sit under the Isola dei Nuraghi IGT. VT is a late-picked Vermentino aged in small oak barrels. Liantru is a red blend led by Carignano.

Why is Capichera considered the benchmark for Vermentino?

Capichera was the first producer in the world to ferment Vermentino in small oak barrels. It was also one of the first in Sardinia to release single-vineyard versions of the grape. That work started in the early 1980s. It turned Vermentino from a simple coastal white into a wine with texture, grip and real ageing power. The wider Vermentino di Gallura DOCG rose with it.

Is Capichera still owned by the Ragnedda family?

No. In April 2022 the family sold all of Capichera to Carlo Bonomi, a businessman from Milan. The brand, the Gallura focus and the team on the ground have stayed in place. The founding family no longer holds a share.

How big is the Capichera estate?

The estate covers around 100 hectares, about 140 football pitches. Vines grow on roughly 42 of those. About 35 are Vermentino. The last 7 or so carry red grapes, including Carignano and Syrah, which go into the Isola dei Nuraghi IGT wines.

Capichera

Capichera is a wine estate among the granite outcrops of Gallura, just outside Arzachena in north-east Sardinia. The founding Ragnedda family farmed this land long before the wine was sold in bottle. The first vintage came in 1981. Since then the estate has set the standard for serious Sardinian Vermentino. It released single-vineyard whites, and whites fermented in small oak barrels, when neither was the norm here. In 2022 the Ragnedda family sold the estate to Carlo Bonomi, a Milan businessman, with a brief of continuity rather than reinvention.

Sardinia
Est. 1980
11 wines
Tastings
Tours
Booking required

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Capichera vineyard rows on the granite hillsides of Gallura, Sardinia

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About Capichera

The Ragnedda family have worked vines here since the late 1800s. The estate in its current form took shape in the 1970s. Fabrizio and Mario Ragnedda founded the company in 1980 and released the first commercial vintage in 1981. Their land sits a few kilometres inland from the Costa Smeralda, on Strada Arzachena. Decomposed granite, sea wind and Mediterranean scrub shape everything grown here.

From the start, Capichera bet on Vermentino, a grape most of Italy then treated as a simple coastal white. The estate bottled it on its own, not in a blend. It was the first in the world to age Vermentino in barrique, and an early mover on single-vineyard releases. That work changed how people saw the grape: a white with texture that can age. It lifted the whole Vermentino di Gallura DOCG zone with it.

The wines sit under three appellations, and each has a clear job. Lintori is the fresher Vermentino di Sardegna DOC, the way into the house style. Vign'Angena is a single-vineyard Vermentino di Gallura DOCG: layered, stony and firm, the wine the reputation rests on. The Isola dei Nuraghi IGT range holds two more. VT is a Vermentino picked late and aged in small oak barrels. Liantru is a red blend led by Carignano, grown on the same granite.

In 2022 the Ragnedda family sold all of Capichera to Carlo Bonomi, a businessman from Milan. The estate he took on covers about 100 hectares, roughly 140 football pitches. Vines grow on 42 of them, and 35 of those are Vermentino. The brief has been continuity, not reinvention. Keep the Gallura identity, and keep a small range of top wines tied to specific plots.

Visitors taste on terraces that look over the vineyards. There are two formats. The Classic is a two-hour tasting of five wines. The Premium is a longer estate tour through eight wines, older vintages included, with Sardinian food alongside. Both run by appointment only, booked through the winery's own system.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · SARDINIA

Capichera on the Sardinia wine atlas

Strada Arzachena, KM. 5,00, 07021 Arzachena, Sassari (Sardegna)

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Visit & Experiences

2 bookable experiences at Capichera

2 tastings, checked by our editors.

At a glance, editorially verified

Tastings 2 bookable Tours 1 bookable

Accommodation Not available

Booking Required in advance

Tasting

Classic Wine Tasting

About 2 hours

Five wines guided by an in-house sommelier on a terrace overlooking the vineyards. Roughly two hours, available for groups of one to eight, by appointment only.

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on capichera.it

Tasting & Tour

Premium Tasting and Vineyard Tour

About 3 hours

A three-hour walk-through of the estate followed by eight wines, including three older vintages from the cellar, paired with Sardinian food. Available for one to eight guests, by appointment only.

Book this tour

on capichera.it

Not seeing the estate you want? Estates without an online listing are reachable directly, and their phone and email are in Plan your visit.

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capichera.it/

Strada Arzachena, KM. 5,00, 07021 Arzachena, Sassari (Sardegna)

+39 078980612

[email protected]

What Capichera makes

Capichera's current bottle selection is easiest to understand through Vermentino and Carignano.

Key grapes

Vermentino (vair-men-TEE-no) is an aromatic white grape variety.

Region Sardinia

Acidity

Body

Explore Vermentino

Common questions

Capichera is on Strada Arzachena km 5, in the municipality of Arzachena, in Sassari province, north-east Sardinia. It sits about 15 minutes inland from Porto Cervo and the Costa Smeralda. The cellar stands in the Gallura wine zone, among granite outcrops and Mediterranean scrub.
Yes, by appointment only. There are two formats. The Classic Wine Tasting covers five wines in about two hours. The Premium Tasting covers eight wines in three hours, with a guided vineyard walk and Sardinian food pairings. Both run for groups of one to eight guests. You book through the official site's scheduling system.
The range is small and built around Vermentino. Lintori is the Vermentino di Sardegna DOC. Vign'Angena is a single-vineyard Vermentino di Gallura DOCG. Two more sit under the Isola dei Nuraghi IGT. VT is a late-picked Vermentino aged in small oak barrels. Liantru is a red blend led by Carignano.
Capichera was the first producer in the world to ferment Vermentino in small oak barrels. It was also one of the first in Sardinia to release single-vineyard versions of the grape. That work started in the early 1980s. It turned Vermentino from a simple coastal white into a wine with texture, grip and real ageing power. The wider Vermentino di Gallura DOCG rose with it.
No. In April 2022 the family sold all of Capichera to Carlo Bonomi, a businessman from Milan. The brand, the Gallura focus and the team on the ground have stayed in place. The founding family no longer holds a share.
The estate covers around 100 hectares, about 140 football pitches. Vines grow on roughly 42 of those. About 35 are Vermentino. The last 7 or so carry red grapes, including Carignano and Syrah, which go into the Isola dei Nuraghi IGT wines.

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