Sardinia's Wine a Fountain of Youth? World?s oldest man, Antonio Todde dies at age 112 - claims wine his secret to longevity.
by Anonymous

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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.


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