Wines made from Grillo grapes of Pouilles
Discover the best wines made with Grillo as a single variety or as a blend of Pouilles.
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.
Puglia (Apulia to many English speakers) is a Long, slender wine region in the extreme Southeast corner of Italy's "boot". To use the shoe analogy often used to illustrate the shape of Italy, Apulia extends from the tip of the heel to the mid-calf, where the spur of the Gargano Peninsula juts out into the Adriatic Sea. The heel (the Salento peninsula) occupies the southern half of the region and is of great importance for the identity of Puglia. Not only are there cultural and geographical differences from Northern Puglia, but the wines are also different.