Giovanna Chessa’s small, family-owned estate is in the north-west corner of the island of Sardinia, near the city of Sassari. Family owned and operated, the Chessa family has been working the estate for just over 60 years. Giovanna’s winemaking style is elegant, transparent and expressive, and the wines are clean but full of character, made entirely of indigenous varieties.   The grape variety Cagnulari is either indigenous to Sardinia, or genetically identical to the Spanish variety Graciano, depending on who you believe. In any case, it’s very dark in color, both flavorful and fresh, combining the wild herb aroma (called ‘garrigue’ in France, or ‘macchia’ in Italian) that is so common in Mediterranean wines with strong black and red fruit aromas and flavors. Fresh acidity and fine tannins make it very versatile with food.