Wines made from Grillo grapes of France
Discover the best wines made with Grillo as a single variety or as a blend of France.
A very ancient grape variety still grown today in western Sicily. Very often associated with catarratto and inzolia, it produces the famous Marsala liqueur wine. It is also increasingly being vinified as a single variety and produces excellent dry wines full of freshness and fruitiness. Grillo is believed to be the result of an intra-fertile cross between catarratto and Muscat of Alexandria or zibibbo, obtained in 1869 by Antonino Mendola. It is represented by two biotypes that can be easily recognized, but it seems that winegrowers attach little importance to them. Little known in other Italian regions - in Liguria it is known as "rossese bianco" - it can also be found in Australia and South Africa. It is not widely grown in France, although it is interesting because of its ability to withstand hot climates and drought, and to ripen quite late.
France, home of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, is arguably the world's largest wine-producing country. For centuries, it has produced more wine - and apparently better quality - than any other country. Wine is embedded in French culture at almost every level of society; it is the drink of the elite and the common people, and a key symbol of Roman Catholicism, the majority religion in France. However, the lasting appeal of French wine is not necessarily its Volume or prestige, but rather the variety of styles available.