One of my highlights this Christmas holiday was going to the Sardinian wine region of Mamoiada, 110 kilometers north of Cagliari. Its dark and rustic streets, with a population of a few thousand hearty souls, is a far cry from the glitz of the island’s Costa Esmeralda with its glossy and beautiful blue sea, luxurious houses, massive yachts, and private jets during the summer, even though the two are just about a one-hour drive apart. It was even more so the case when I visited in early December