Cardedu is a small winery run by Sergio Loi in southeast Sardinia. Working with local varietals Sergio makes his wines as low-intervention as possible. This wine is 100% monica, an indigenous  varietal in Sardinia.

Sergio comes from a family of winemakers in the Ogliastra region, the mountainous, sparsely populated southeastern corner of Sardinia. This rugged landscape is also right on the coast (the town of Cardedu is just 5min from the beach), with a lot of Mediterranean influence. The name of this wine, 'Praja', is the dialect word for 'beach'. Soils are granitic with lots of feldspar which gives it a reddish tint.

The 2020 has some barnyard brett on the nose when first opened, then dark and brambly red fruit with twigs, dirt, and underbrush, and a super chewy palate. It finishes with bitter dried sage, and salt, and gritty but soft tannins. Most people drink monica with a slight chill just below cellar temp. It's a great summer bbq wine! Drink it with grilled lamb or grilled squash, and bbq hamburgers on the 4th of July.