Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
There are four offi cial Grillo clones: Regione
Sicilia 297, VFP 91, VFP 92, and VFP 93. In
general, Grillo has medium-sized bunches and
medium or medium-large, round berries. It's a
vigorous variety and a dependable producer
that is very heat and drought tolerant, a good
thing when its main habitat is Sicily. In any
case, Grillo's confi nement over the centuries to
a specifi c part of Sicily and its apparent lack of
cultivation elsewhere in Italy (except Puglia)
explains the scant intravarietal variability and
lack of biotypes, of which there are only two:
Grillo Vecchio and Grillo Nuovo. The latter is
much less susceptible to shot berries and
mill-
erandage
and is therefore the one most culti-
vated today. These problems can be reduced by
using the 420A or 110R rootstocks; the SO4
rootstock is best avoided with Grillo as it does
not guarantee regular yields.
In Italy Grillo is almost exclusively found in
Sicily, though there are sporadic plantings in
Puglia; some has been planted in Australia.
mas that we recognize as cassis, grapefruit, and
passion fruit, among others, all aromas we nor-
mally associate with Sauvignon Blanc wines.
Wines made with Sauvignon Blanc are particu-
larly rich in volatile thiols, particularly 4-mer-
capto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP); using
yeast strains that free it from larger, odorless
precursor molecules greatly increases its con-
centration. Thiols are, however, very sensitive
to copper and oxygen: the former causes the
formation of insoluble sulfur compounds,
while the latter leads to aldehyde production,
which also makes the characteristic thiol-asso-
ciated aromas disappear. In short, by adopting
specifi c viticultural practices, yeast strains, and
reductive winemaking techniques, producers
can now make Grillo wines that are lemony,
herbal, and crisp and that share more than a
passing resemblance to wines made with Sauvi-
gnon Blanc. Therefore, modern-day Grillo
wines are completely different, generally
cleaner and fresher, than the somewhat earthy,
fatter wines made decades ago.
This has led some to question whether mod-
ern-day Grillo wines refl ect characteristics of
the variety itself or simply winemaking
alchemy. Some see today's wines as un-Grillo-
like or almost “unauthentic,” while others insist
that Grillo grapes have precursor molecules
that allow Sauvignon Blanc-like aroma forma-
tion, and so the new techniques only allow
Grillo to fi nally reveal its true self. Ivo Basile,
commercial director of the famous Tasca
d'Almerita estate, says, “I'm not sure we really
know what true Grillo wines should be like.
Was it earthy and overly alcoholic before only
because poorly made? Or maybe now we can at
last see what the variety can really give?” Re-
nato De Bartoli, who makes the excellent Terza-
via wines, feels otherwise: “I don't believe these
new wines taste anything like Grillo wines
should.” It doesn't look like the debate will be
resolved anytime soon.
The best DOC wines made with 100 percent
Grillo are Contea di Sclafani, Alcamo, Delia
Nivolelli, and Monreale, but there are also mon-
ovarietal IGT wines worth a taste. Since most of
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Modern winemaking has had an amazing
impact on Grillo wines. Precise timing of the
simple action of deleafi ng has signifi cant reper-
cussions on the wine's fi nal aroma profi le:
because Grillo is sensitive to sunburn, deleaf-
ing too early in the season or excessively
decreases the aromatic components (benze-
noids, terpenes, and norisoprenoids), making
the resulting wine less perfumed. Grillo's
aroma molecules are also easily oxidized, and
so winemakers are increasingly using reductive
winemaking techniques. In particular, wine-
makers are careful to preserve thiols (molecules
once called mercaptans due to their tendency to
precipitate in contact with mercury salts), alco-
hols in which an ox ygen atom has been replaced
by a sulfur atom, which greatly infl uence wine
aroma. At high concentrations and depending
on which volatile thiols are present, their pres-
ence is revealed by a very unpleasant odor.
However, Vermeulen, Gijs, and Collin
(2005) and many other researchers have shown
that thiols are also responsible for pleasant aro-
