A feminine story among the vineyards of Sa Barra
Bettina Caddeo tells us about her wine, her land and the women who inspired her.
Presentation
"My name is Bettina Caddeo and I am the owner of Azienda Vitivinicola Xabarra. I produce Carignano in a small plot of one and a half hectares in Sant'Antioco, in the locality of Sa Barra from which my wine takes its name.
My vineyards today are between twenty and one hundred years old and are all cultivated in Piede Franco, on sandy soil a few metres from the sea. I produce a limited number of bottles, but my priority is quality."
A lovingly inherited vineyard
"It all started with a piece of land that was bequeathed to me; I come, as they say, from a family of wine women and my project stems from this long family tradition of female winegrowers.
The passion for the vineyard was first handed down to me by my great-grandmother, then my grandmother and finally my mother. From a young age, I saw them working the land and I myself always participated in the work in the fields alongside them, and that is how the culture of the vine was passed down to me.
Today, I continue to work the vines as they worked them, with the same values and with some tricks that allow me to carry out my project but also enhance the territory of Sant'Antioco.
My plan has always been to continue their work and, for now, I am succeeding, also thanks to the help of my family, my husband and my son."
Looking to the future
'My future project is to plant Moscato, again at Piede Franco, right here in Sa Barra. My grandmothers and my mother cultivated both Carignano and Moscato, and I would like to bring both varieties back into my production. One day, I would like to be able to offer not only a bottle of Carignano, but also one of Moscato.
In addition, my husband and son help me every day. My greatest wish is that my son can also continue this path and project."
Pruning and tradition: the gestures that make wine
"Today I showed you the pruning of the production of Carignano; in January you start to cut the shoots, when the plant goes into rest, and in this period, in March, as the budding begins, I usually leave 5/6 shoots but in this period, by 19 / 20 of March, you start to leave, as I was taught, only two shoots, two buds, which will give the production of two shoots from which the grapes will be born.
Production will be one kilo, one kilo two.
The pruning like mine has two buds, this is the working of this period in March, then we wait for the buds to give the first, the first grapes and the first pass will be the sulphur, which is usually done manually.
Positive and negative aspects of working in the vineyard
"I always say, working the vineyard 'is a job of satisfaction' for me, but it's also, however, a very tiring job, you have to love the countryside to be able to stay there because when you get up and start working at 8 o'clock in the morning and stop in the winter at 3 o'clock because it's dark and in the summer at 9 o'clock at night, you have to love it, I repeat you have to love the vineyard."
Childhood memories
I have a lot of memories, however, I can tell you this: I remember as a child that there were geckos inside the wine warehouse, because there were no cellars before, but warehouses were used; in our warehouse there were geckos and I was afraid of them, but my grandmother replied 'Bettina don't be afraid because they are the guardians of the wine' and in fact I, in my bottle, if you go and notice, the gecko that is depicted on the label is a memory that I have carried with me all my life.
