THE PUNIC AND ROMAN AGES
The Punic Age
Wine was certainly present in Sardinia during this period.
But the Punic didn’t appreciate vineyards and Sardinia became the granary of Carthage.
The invaders presumably ordered that all fruit trees in the Island be cut down, including vines.
The Roman Age
Vineyards began to bloom again during the Roman Age.
The Romans decided that Sardinia should continue to produce wheat, therefore they limited grapevine growing.
But the Roman settlers grew in number, and it was difficult to prevent them from growing grapevine; there was no reason they should import wine from Latium, when they could produce it in Sardinia, so grapevine cultivation was liberalised.
Sardinians have always loved good wine.
In some cases, acts of worship developed, as the statues of Bacchus-Dionysus found in the centre of Cagliari seem to prove: they are significant symbols of the joyful relationship between Sardinians and wine