Our story begins on 24 October 1960, when twenty-seven vinegrowers chose to join forces and give a future to viticulture in Sulcis. It was the beginning of a collective story shaped by courage, vision and a deep sense of belonging to this land.
Over the years, the winery became a community, a workshop of ideas, a place where rural knowledge and enlightened intuition came together.
Since then, every harvest has been a step forward: a confirmation that wines born in Sulcis can speak the language of the Mediterranean and be recognised throughout the world.
On 24 October 1960, the deed of incorporation of the Cantina Sociale di Santadi was signed in Cagliari, in the office of notary Francesco Vacca. The birth of the co-operative was promoted by a group of grape producers from the area, coordinated by ETFAS and led by Antioco Sais, known as Peppino.
The goal was clear and concrete: to vinify grapes collectively, create added value for the work of the partners, and build a shared identity for the wines of Sulcis. In an area marked by agricultural hardship and a fragile economy, the winery represented a responsible choice.
It was the beginning of a collective journey that united people, vineyards and destiny.
Antioco Sais, known to everyone as Peppino, was born in 1904.
A livestock farmer and a man of the land, from a very young age he ran the family farm, quickly learning to make difficult decisions and take on responsibilities that would shape his entire life.
Although he could neither read nor write, he possessed a rare quality: the ability to look ahead. He was open to innovation, curious about change, capable of imagining a different future for his land. After the Second World War he served as municipal commissioner and first mayor of Santadi, as well as justice of the peace, an authoritative figure deeply respected by the community.
The Cantina Sociale di Santadi was born precisely from this concrete, far-sighted vision.
Peppino Sais understood that cooperation was the only path to give value to the work of producers. He also had the decisive intuition to identify Antonello Pilloni as the right person to guide the winery over time: a choice that would prove crucial to its history.
It is no coincidence that today a bronze bust commemorates him at the entrance to the offices: a symbol of a legacy that goes beyond the winery itself. Peppino Sais was more than a founder. He was a man capable of turning daily work into vision, and vision into community.
In 1976, Cantina Sociale di Santadi was facing the most critical moment in its history. Debts were substantial, partners trust was fragile, and the risk of bankruptcy was real. It was in this context that Peppino Sais identified Antonello Pilloni as the figure capable of taking on a responsibility that few would have accepted.
Pilloni became president on 14 July 1976. From the very first months, he faced a complex situation of accumulated liabilities, compromised commercial relationships and a co-operative whose credibility had to be rebuilt. With rigour, determination and a clear vision, however, he launched a profound process of economic recovery and internal reorganisation.
Those were difficult but decisive years. Cantina Santadi regained stability, restored the trust of its members and laid the foundations for a new path: a focus on quality, bottling, and the enhancement of the region’s grape varieties. It was the beginning of a transformation that would change Santadi’s destiny forever.
Antonello Pilloni was born in Nuxis in 1934, into a family deeply connected with work, the land and sense of community. After his first experiences in trade and distribution, he developed a solid entrepreneurial culture that combined operational pragmatism with strategic vision. At the same time, he cultivated a strong civic and political commitment, serving for 37 years as mayor of Nuxis and becoming a leading figure of the Partito Sardo d’Azione.
When he accepted the presidency of the Cantina Sociale di Santadi in 1976, the co-operative was going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. With clarity and courage, he tackled the debts, defended the company in complex commercial disputes and launched a deep process of recovery and reorganisation: less bulk wine; more quality, more identity, more vision.
Under his leadership, the winery became a modern, agile company, recognised nationally and across Europe. Pilloni consistently supported a project centred on the land and its members, and firmly believed in collaborating with great winemakers and professionals, especially Giacomo Tachis, the master and architect of Cantina Santadi’s decisive winemaking turn.
Even today, after almost half a century as president, Antonello Pilloni remains a central figure not only for Cantina Santadi, but for Sardinian winemaking. A rare example of continuity, responsibility and absolute dedication to a collective vision.
The arrival of Giacomo Tachis marked a decisive cultural turning point. The Maestro came to Sardinia as consultant to the Consorzio Vini DOC and, thanks to Antonello Pilloni’s vision, began a special journey with Cantina Santadi. Here he recognised a rare greatness in Carignano del Sulcis and established a clear principle: wine is born first and foremost in the vineyard.
From that moment, priorities and winemaking protocols changed. Lower yields, rigorous grape selection, attention to the moment of harvest, more precise vinification. New ideas entered the cellar on maceration, balance and elegance, with a conscious use of barrique as an instrument, not as a signature. It was in this context that, in 1984, Terre Brune took shape, Cantina Santadi’s flagship red wine: the first Sardinian wine of great structure aged in barriques, destined to change the perception of the island’s wines in Italy and throughout the world.
Giacomo Tachis was one of the greatest Italian winemakers of the twentieth century, an absolute protagonist in the qualitative renaissance of Italian wine. Born in Piedmont and Tuscan by adoption, he tied his name to projects that changed the history of winemaking, signing iconic wines such as Sassicaia, Tignanello and Solaia, and serving as technical director of Antinori and consultant to some of Italy’s most important wine estates.
In the 1980s, he came into contact with our winery through Antonello Pilloni. From the very beginning, he recognised an extraordinary potential in Carignano del Sulcis, understanding that this grape variety, grown close to the sea and often on its own roots, could express a rare nobility in the Mediterranean. He introduced a new approach to work in the vineyard and in the cellar: lower yields, rigorous grape selection, and the centrality of the fruit.
With Tachis, the winery embarked on a radical path of qualitative growth. Terre Brune was born: the first great Sardinian red aged in barrique, the symbol of a Sardinian wine culture capable of speaking to the world without denying its own identity.
The relationship between Tachis and Cantina Santadi lasted more than thirty years, on respect, rigour and a shared vision: to interpret the land without forcing it. The deepest legacy he left was not a technique, but a new way of looking at the vineyard, time and the soul of wine.
Cantina Santadi expands, modernises and grows in quality and organisation. New infrastructure, new vinification rooms, new barrel cellars and increasingly advanced laboratories are created. Technology enters the cellar discreetly, becoming a precision tool in the service of winemaking sensitivity, while the community of members grows and strengthens.
Guaranteeing the continuity of this vision is the guidance of Giorgio Marone, a winemaker of long-standing experience, pupil and collaborator of Tachis. His role ensures coherence, rigour and fidelity to a winemaking philosophy centred on fruit, place and the elegance of the final result.
