The coast of Villasimius and surroundings, located on the southeastern tip of Sardinia, is one of the most loved and celebrated seaside resorts on the island with dozens of large and welcoming beaches characterized by fine white sand and turquoise sea. All around a few towns and green hills that smell of the Mediterranean.

On these gentle slopes has been cultivated for centuries the vine from Cannonau, the vine – until proven otherwise – the oldest in the Mediterranean. To discover these 3200 years of history and to want to read it “in pink” came a manager-entrepreneur French, Jean-Paul Tréguer, accompanied by his wife Isabelle.

Jean-Paul and Isabelle have chosen Villasimius as their “buen retiro”. Fleeing from the hectic Paris they found in the village of Sarrabus the ideal place to live. “It was a stroke of lightning with the beautiful landscape – they explain -. But, much more important to us, we discovered a place where Sardinians are brave, hardworking, honest, kind, nice, and incredibly hospitable. We really feel at home.” In their villa, with the sea all around (“We are Bretons, the sea for us is like oxygen” they confess), they welcome everyone for lunch, an aperitif, a passionate discussion on marketing strategy and the creation of an international brand or a carefree chat. They open the doors of their house to us for a “reinforced aperitif” accompanied by their excellent wine.

Jean-Paul opens an iced bottle of their So Chic! Rosé and serves it to us in a large glass with a wide cup in the shape of a bud. The satin bottle recalls the typical freshness of rosé and (surprise!) the 100% cork is pink, thanks to a natural food paint. Tréguer & Tréguer has a huge difference compared to all the other wineries in Sardinia: it is the only one that is dedicated exclusively to still rosé wine. It does not produce red, white, bubbles, only rosé. “It will always be like this – jean-Paul specifies – throughout my professional life in the Marketing sector I have always preferred to do only one thing at a time and do it well. I wake up thinking about the rosé market, I have lunch thinking about rosé, I have dinner thinking about rosé, I fall asleep thinking about rosé”. We are the rosé specialists in Sardinia and we have the ambition to become the absolute reference of Sardinian rosé, to export it and compete with the famous rosé wines of Provence, the world leaders that I have always known very well”.

So Chic! is a 100% Cannonau di Capo Ferrato Doc, characterized by a bright pink color, a fruity and floral scent, and a savory and dry taste. The alcohol content, 12.5 °, allows you to drink it without interruption from aperitif to dessert.

We taste it with a platter of pecorino, sausage and peppery ham, slightly spicy artichokes in oil, guttiau bread and yellow and red tomatoes. So Chic! Rosé is a wine that accompanies and does not overpower food, which refreshes and does not dry the palate. We are pleasantly surprised by the versatility of her drink: the ice cream cake that Isabelle offers us is enhanced by its balanced aromatic bouquet.

And while So Chic! refreshes body and soul from a suffocating and humid libeccio overlooking the sea, we discover the story of this couple French remained “victim” of a lightning strike with Villasimius and Sardinia. “Life in Rosé”, the claim chosen by Isabelle and Jean Paul for their creature, is a philosophy of life, made of smiles, welcome, kindness, openness and sharing. After a life spent in the world of marketing at the highest levels – from the creation of the most important television advertising agency in the Alps (BIG Success) to collaborations with Remy Martin cognac with the creation of the famous black satin VSOP bottle and those with Krug Champagne and Rolls Royce – Jean Paul has chosen to devote himself to rosé wine, which has always been a great passion of his.

“We decided to make a great Rosé wine together with the extraordinary Sardinian winemakers and together with Sardinia – he tells us -. In Italy, rosé is not very widespread. And it is a paradox because Italy is the second exporting country of rosé wines in the world. Strange, but things change quickly! In France, from May to October, almost only rosé is drunk. Compared to white and red wines, still, rosés have a dizzying growth in the world because they are very popular in many countries. It is the only wine that goes well with raw, fish, meat, pizza, pasta, exotic cuisine, summer salads, and many other dishes. After studying Sardinian wines and Cannonau we realized that in the territory of Castiadas-Costa Rei-Villasimius, there is a huge space and there is an ideal land to work a rosé wine of excellence, with vines that for millennia have not feared the difficult weather conditions expected in the future with the “Global Warming”.

Because perhaps, as Jean-Paul concludes, “Cannonau is not afraid of anything, neither of heat, nor of competition from other vines. It is a miracle of Sardinian nature”.

Dopo ventitré anni di attività, il Marina Cafè Noir, storico festival di letteratura, musica e cultura popolare, annuncia l’addio a Cagliari. La decisione, comunicata dall’Associazione Culturale Chourmo, segna la fine di un capitolo importante per la vita culturale cittadina: dal 2003 il festival aveva trasformato piazze e quartieri in luoghi d’incontro, dibattito e partecipazione.

Nato nel cuore del quartiere Marina, il festival si è caratterizzato per la sua natura popolare e accessibile, capace di coinvolgere migliaia di persone ogni anno e di portare in città scrittori, musicisti e artisti nazionali e internazionali. Negli anni ha contribuito a rivitalizzare spazi urbani e a costruire una comunità culturale trasversale, riconosciuta anche fuori dall’isola.

Tuttavia, spiegano gli organizzatori, il rapporto con l’amministrazione comunale si sarebbe progressivamente deteriorato. «È venuta meno la percezione di essere considerati una risorsa per la città», scrivono. «La burocrazia non è stata più un semplice ostacolo operativo, ma uno strumento contraddittorio e incomprensibile che ha reso impossibile programmare e lavorare con continuità».

Tra i nodi indicati: ritardi nell’assegnazione degli spazi e dei contributi, sostegno economico giudicato insufficiente rispetto alla complessità del progetto, difficoltà nei processi autorizzativi e mancanza di un supporto logistico adeguato. Elementi che, nel corso del tempo, hanno finito per pesare più della passione e dell’impegno.

Il Marina Cafè Noir rivendica però di non voler aprire alcun conflitto politico. «Non cerchiamo corsie preferenziali, solo il riconoscimento del valore di un festival gratuito, costruito in strada, capace di avvicinare al libro e alla cultura chi altrimenti non si avvicinerebbe». La scelta non nasce dunque da polemiche personali, precisano, ma dalla consapevolezza di non poter più lavorare «in condizioni dignitose e sostenibili».

Quel che è certo è che il festival non si ferma. La sua storia proseguirà altrove, in un’altra città ancora da svelare. «Un certo nomadismo fa parte della nostra identità. Marina Cafè Noir continuerà, ma non a Cagliari. A breve diremo dove». Intanto, dal pubblico, continuano a arrivare messaggi di sostegno, affetto e riconoscenza. Segno di quanto forte sia stata, in oltre due decenni, la presenza del festival nel tessuto culturale cittadino.