Corsica
Many people have never heard of or even tasted Corsican wine. Some don’t even know that Corsica is a French island. Well, geographically! Corsica may well be a French territory since 1768, the Corsicans don’t fell that way nor their wines! This jewel of the Mediterranean, also called “Ile de Beaute” (Island of Beauty) by the French, make Corsican wines special, different than the rest of the French wines.
Corsica vineyards extend all around the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea with an exceptional amount of sunlight. On the road you will be astounded by picturesque villages, pristine long beaches and steep cliffs plunging into the deep blue sea. You will find rugged, natural beauty and people who are proud of all Corsican things, especially their wines. Corsica with its 2,000-year-old wine-growing heritage, has more than 30 common grape varieties, including reds, fine and full-bodied rosés, renowned Muscats and whites.
What makes Corsican wine so unusual? First, Corsica offers a melting pot of soils; limestone and clay primarily in the north, granite mostly in the south, sandstone and volcanic soils in the centre. The climate is both maritime and continental, heavily influenced by the mountains with constant winds, including the famous Mistral from the northwest and the hot Sirocco from the south. Corsican wines are also made unique by the use of grapes that are seldom used outside of the island; mainly Sciaccarellu, Niellucciu for red wines and Vermentinu for the whites. And the Corsicans? Proud, fierce and independent barely begins to describe them.
