Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
slopes are extremely steep, impossible to work
by machine, and vines can be found as high up
as fi ve hundred to six hundred meters above sea
level; the volcanic soils are poor in nutrients,
and rich in clay, limestone, and gravel, with a
high presence of chalk and sulfur elements.
Some of the lightest-colored, most mineral, and
refi ned Greco di Tufo wines are made here. By
contrast, vineyards in Santa Paolina and Monte-
fusco, located at slightly lower altitudes and
with less steep hillside gradients than Tufo's,
are characterized by larger amounts of clay and
organic matter, as well as a higher iron content.
Hence, wines made in these areas are typically
bigger and more structured. Elsewhere, in
sandy soils rich in calcium carbonate, Greco
tends to produce lighter, more perfumed wines.
However, as Greco is grown almost everywhere
in Campania, there are myriad wines made:
Sannio Greco, Taburno Greco, Sant'Agata dei
Goti Greco are just some of them. Greco is also
found in many blends, for example Capri
Bianco, in which it makes up to 50 percent of
the total blend. Greco wines are usually very yel-
low in hue, big, fat, and rather high in alcohol;
all share an almost oily, tannic texture (the
exceptions are Mastroberardino's versions,
which are remarkably delicate and herbal, but I
fi nd there is a house “signature” to their whites.)
There really is a Greco mouthfeel, and Greco
wines are easy to recognize when tasting blind.
Typical aromas and fl avors include yellow fl ow-
ers, honey, peach, pear, and ripe tropical fruit.
Unlike wines made with Fiano, which are
always best with a few years of bottle age, Greco
wines, in all their peachy-honeyed, opulent
splendor are extremely enjoyable when young,
though they too can age splendidly.
International versions of Greco include
interesting examples from Australia, such as
Beach Road in Langhorne Creek, Di Lusso
Estate in Mudgee, and Chalmers in Murray
Darling. The latter was long the largest vine
nursery propagation business in Australia, but
also had a winemaking arm: in 2005 they made
an interesting Fiano-Greco blend as part of
their Chalmers Wines Project series. Founders
Bruce and Jenny Darling sold their Euston
block in 2008 to the Macquarie Diversifi ed
Agriculture Fund, but have since purchased a
new Murray Darling site at Merebin and
branched out to the slightly cooler Heathcote
region (where they have produced wines from
other Italian varieties, such as Nero d'Avola,
Vermentino, and Sangiovese). Interestingly,
Beach Road used to label its Greco wine as
Greco di Tufo (I distinctly remember seeing
that name on the 2009 bottling) while now it is
simply called Greco (witness the 2011 wine's
label; however, as of mid-2013 their website still
lists the wine as Greco di Tufo); a good thing
too, since Greco di Tufo is an Italian DOCG
wine and that name, much like Champagne,
cannot appear on the wine labels of any other
country. For this reason, Di Lusso Estate also
stopped labeling its wine Greco di Tufo: the
2011 was still so labeled while their 2012 is sim-
ply, and cor rect ly, labeled Greco. Never t heless,
these estates have a special touch with the
grape; both the Beach Road and Di Lusso exam-
ples are very fi ne wines. In fact, Beach Road
winemaker Briony Hoare won the Chairman's
Award for the “Wines to Watch” category with
her 2009 Greco di Tufo wine at the Australian
Alternative Varieties Wine Show held in Mil-
dura. In California, though there are only
roughly forty hectares (about one hundred
acres) planted to Greco, an increasing number
of wineries are taking an interest in the variety.
Route 3 Wines, in the Dunnigan Hills Ameri-
can Viticultural Area (AVA) has made a delight-
ful 2012 Greco wine called GdT (get it?) that
speaks of white fl owers, minerals, peaches, and
a trace of honey; I quite liked it, and at 11.5 per-
cent alcohol, it is much lighter than Italian
counterparts (not necessarily a bad thing).
Rosa d'Oro Vineyards in Kelseyville has also
produced a Greco wine (that I haven't yet tasted)
and last I heard were still deciding what to call
it. Apparently, a producer from Sonoma's Rus-
sian River area, Nico's Wines, has also started
making a wine with Greco (that I have yet to
taste). Clondaire Vineyard, just west of San
Andreas in California's Calaveras County, has
