One hot afternoon in summer, as I was walking on my own in Sardinia, the island I call home, I bought a small jar of honey on impulse, only to leave it unopened in the kitchen…

A little while later, I dipped a spoon in to taste it and was immediately enchanted! Even its scent was heavenly: this was truly love at first sight… I was completely captivated!

I contacted the producers and visited them in the fertile Campidano plain outside Cagliari. It was the start of a new adventure, one that received the approval of an inquisitive and rather cheeky little bee, which left a small heart-shaped sting on my arm after hiding for hours in my sleeve.

At that instant I decided to set up Regina d’Italia, a company selling the finest organic honey.

The main aim of Regina d’Italia is to promote the finest organic honey from Italy. The honey comes from Sardinia, from San Sperate, a small town some 30 km from Cagliari. This fertile area is renowned for its excellent peaches, and also for its citrus fruits, apricots, wheat and tomatoes.

In and around the town there are numerous beautiful gardens filled with lemon and orange trees, as well as mandarins. Here these plants have found an ideal habitat. Their intensely perfumed white and pink blossom and the presence of several large-scale flower-growers have encouraged the extensive development of beekeeping.

Getting to know more about “the world of bees” means rediscovering values that are highly relevant to our world, more so today than ever before: the value of the environment, the variety and richness of Italy’s natural heritage, and the importance of honey to our countryside.

Asphodel is a herbaceous plant that grows profusely in Sardinia. Its five-petal flowers, which are white with thin red stripes, form long spikes clustered on a stem that can be up to fifty centimetres tall.

Colour: Golden in colour, ranging from pale to brilliant yellow.

Scent and taste: The honey has a very refined and intensely herbal aroma reminiscent of meadows, freshly cut grass, wildflowers and roses. The taste is very subtle and reflects the scent; it is not too sweet and is characterised by intense herbal notes.

Recommended uses: This is a very delicate honey that can be served with blue-veined cheeses: the floral and plant notes balance the aroma of the moulds. It is also excellent paired with fresh, bland cheeses or served with fruit yoghurt. It is used as an ingredient in aranzada, a sweet made from finely sliced orange rind, almonds and honey, or served with deserts made using whole or ground almonds. However it is served, this honey is never overly sweet. It is also recommended in tea and in green tea.

Rather than from the classic thistle, this honey is made from the wild cardoon, which belongs to the same family but has a wide variety of flower heads. These range from a thorny, white flower on a thin stalk, about thirty centimetres tall, to red flowers on plants that can easily reach a metre and a half in height.

Colour: Amber coloured, varying from lighter to deeper hues, enriched by characteristic greenish reflections. Crystallisation takes place quite rapidly with the formation of large, multifaceted crystals, which are pale amber in colour.

Scent and taste: The honey has an intensely flowery aroma with meadowsweet notes accompanied by spicy highlights, a hint of red fruit preserves or even stronger notes, such as freshly tanned leather. The taste is strong, distinct but not very sweet, with a lingering, piquant aftertaste.

Recommended uses: This honey is ideal served with full-flavoured, mature cheeses, or with pecorino and blue cheeses. It is also excellent when added to seadas, Sardinian fried pastries filled with ricotta.

Arbutus (also known as the strawberry tree) is an evergreen shrub that grows widely in Sardinia, mainly in the mountain area. Its sharp-tasting red berries tend to become sweeter as they ripen.

Colour: Arbutus honey is particularly rare since it is only harvested during the winter months, but it is also the best-known Sardinian honey and its surprisingly sharp tang has been praised since the time of Cicero and Virgil. The honey is dark amber in colour, but after crystallisation it mellows to shades of hazelnut brown.

Scent and taste: The honey has a herbal fragrance with hints of ground coffee and bitter almonds; sometimes there is also an underlying scent of ivy leaves. The bitter taste reflects the scent and is particularly subtle, with herbal notes.

Recommended uses: It is served as an accompaniment to piquant cheeses and pecorino di fossa, or with well-matured lard, seadas, ricotta, or ice cream. For an unusual pairing, that works surprisingly well, try serving this honey with white chocolate mousse.

This native species of Australia was first planted in Sardinia in the early 20th century. Eucalyptus trees grow to a considerable height and flower between June and July, producing large quantities of nectar.

Colour: Eucalyptus honey is amber-coloured and can be quite dark depending on the period when it is harvested. It crystallises rapidly and sets quite hard.

Scent and taste: The honey has an intense but distinctive scent that recalls the pungent flowers and leaves. It is not overly sweet and leaves a slightly salty aftertaste. The taste is constant and is vaguely reminiscent of liquorice, toffee and dried porcini mushrooms. Ideally, it should be served for breakfast or paired with slightly sour cheeses.

Recommended uses: Eucalyptus honey is strong enough to be served with pungent or slightly sour cheese; it is also a delicious accompaniment to semi-hard or aged cheeses, like fiore sardo or pecorino romano. Eucalyptus honey is the most suitable honey to add to milk for breakfast.

This honey is harvested from the hilly areas of Sardinia where tree heather, lavender, asphodel, cistus and rosemary grow wild, together with a variety of wild cardoons. This produces an intriguing blend that changes every year. Honey from the Mediterranean macchia has a characteristic and highly evocative aroma that sets it apart from wildflower honeys produced elsewhere in Italy.

Colour: Its colour changes from year to year, depending on which flower species are predominant.

Scent and taste: This honey has an exceptionally rich scent, with spicy notes. Some years the macchia is particularly rich in lavender and this gives the honey a softer taste, and a more balsamic fragrance. Instead, if heather or cardoon is the dominant species, then the honey has a particularly deep and rich flavour, coupled with spicy and aromatic notes. These natural variations allow consumers to enjoy new scents and changing tastes from year to year.

Recommended uses: This versatile honey can be served with a wide range of dishes depending on its seasonal variations.