Ruju Sardu is a DOC Cannonau di Sardegna Nepente wine from Oliena, made from 95 per cent Cannonau grapes and other vines for the remaining 5 per cent grown in the Oliena countryside in the Jumpadu area, produced by the Ruju Sardu winery.

Pupusu means bow, the pet name my great-grandmother, my grandfather’s mother, gave him at birth because he was “as beautiful as a little bow.” This is a tribute to him, Sebastian Pupusu Pugioni, an elegant and jovial man, a lover of su vinu nigheddu and good drinking in company.

The vines are grown on calcareous breakdown soil mixed with marls, with a yield of 50 quintals per hectare.

Harvesting usually takes place between mid-September and early October and is done strictly by hand.

Once in the cellar, the grapes ferment with the help of selected indigenous yeasts, pressing is soft, and pumping over is done by hand. The wine rests in steel, part of the mass is aged in wood, and after about two years bottling takes place.