Sardinia's Wine a Fountain of Youth? World's
oldest man, Antonio Todde dies at age 112 -
claims wine his secret to longevity.
Ever wonder what it takes to live past a
hundred? Antonio Todde who died just last
week at 112 may hold at least part of the
answer. When asked last year how he had
reached such a long age he attributed it, in
part, to drinking a glass of local Sardinian
red wine every day. Sardinia, in fact, seems
to be cornering the market on some of the
oldest people in the world, handily beating
the western average of 75 per million making
it past the century mark with a whopping 135
per million facing one hundred candles on
their cakes.
"These aren't your usual geriatrics walking
around," says Jim Perry, owner of Sardinia
Vacations who has spent the last year living
on the island learning about the culture and
lifestyle of the locals. "They're out
shopping, walking through town and sometimes
even running to catch the bus." He says that
he's never seen so many active senior
citizens and he's not really surprised that
there are so many. "It's good clean living.
The air is clean, the food is fresh, and the
most stressful thing would seem to be
choosing which local wine they will have
with dinner tonight."
Though previously not very well known,
Sardinian wines are moving towards the top
of the lists of many wine experts. "I've
seen several make it onto the top ten wines
in national magazines," says Perry who
organizes wine and culinary vacations for
groups mostly in the US. "Being that he's
from Tiana in the Nuoro area he probably was
drinking a Cannonau, a nice hearty red that
goes great with meat." The Nuoro area is in
the rocky, mountainous interior of Sardinia
known as the Barbagia area. "It's the most
isolated part of the island but with the
nicest people," says Perry. "I'd bet he
wasn't shying away from red meat, either."
Typical foods from the area include lamb,
goat, suckling pig, beef, and the
ever-present Cinghiale or wild boar. "You
always know you're going to eat well when
someone from Nuoro invites you. I have the
good fortune to have a landlord whose family
is from that area and we never turn them
down when they offer to host us."
Sardinia also boasts some of the best
Vermentinos, Moscatos, and the oldest
variety on the island, the Nuragus. "The
Phoenicians brought it over more than 3,000
years ago. It's one of the varieties that
really thrives in the dry soil," Perry adds.
"Actually, the Spanish can be thanked for
many of these great wines as they brought
over many varieties during their time here."
Sardinia, strategically located in the
Mediterranean has been controlled by many
different civilizations from the Phoenicians
and Romans to the Pisans and Aragonese.
38 year old Perry doesn't make any promises
but adds he's not here by accident. "You ask
most eighty year olds whether they'd like an
extra ten years and I'd bet they'd say yes.
I'm not saying I will make it past 100 but
there's nothing to lose by trying."
Sardinia is home to some of the best
boating, windsurfing, and features several
of the top beaches in Europe. The Costa
Smeralda is famous as a haven for rich and
famous and was a popular destination for
Princess Diana, who left here just previous
to her death in Paris. In the past year
Madonna filmed a movie here and Mariah Carey
chose it as her "undisclosed location" to
recover from some emotional difficulties.
Jim Perry is the owner of Sardinia
Vacations. Sardinia Vacations is a tour
operator that organizes individual, small
group and organizational travel to the
island. They offer vacation packages
including wine, culinary, yachting, sailing,
historical, golf and many other recreational
themes.
Contact Us
Sardinia Vacations
PO Box 8224
Medford OR 97504
(541) 772 1241
In Italy
39 340 599 9389
Internet
info@sardiniavacations.com
For
Additional Information, Please Contact:
Jim Perry
Sardinia Vacations
http://www.sardiniavacations.com
39 340 599 9389
info@sardiniavacations.com
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