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Grillo is a white-wine grape originating in Sicily (or possibly, before that, from Puglia, though that seems unlikely—best bet is that it’s a native of Sicily). It is today almost exclusively a Sicilian wine, though as Rossesse Bianco a little is also grown in Liguria.
Its major virtue in the vineyard is that it can withstand really high temperatures and drought and still produce copiously. It also tends to quite high alcohol contents, which makes it a prime candidate for being left on the vine long enough to produce sweet dessert wines (which is why it is what Marsala is classically made from). Grown as a dry table wine, it needs considerable caution to make anything that isn’t bland and nearly tasteless; thus, care is needed in selecting particular bottlings if disappointment is to be avoided. As you will see below, Grillo gets little respect from most reviewers; yet Jancis Robinson (whom we mainly follow in selecting grapes to write about) shows it as at least capable of making pretty decent wine.
Grillo is not a strongly aromatic or flavored wine, but at its best it is full-bodied, earthy almost to the point of astringency, and can be bottle-aged to benefit. It will have a creamy feel (though with some acidity), and a sense of faint and indistinct but broad-spectrum fruit flavors, tending toward the citrus-y.
There seem to be two different types of Grillo vines, and they reportedly make differing wines. So also is the difference between “coastal” and higher-altitude Grillos supposed to matter nontrivially, with coastal generally preferred. Most often, it seems, one encounters blends of these different types. (There are four official clones of Grillo: Regione Sicilia 297, VFP 91, VFP 92, and VFP 93.)
The biotypes are known simply as “A” and “B”, and are described thus (from Giampiero Nadali):
Biotype A has a compact cluster, high productivity, produces a concentration of musts with low sugar, low pH, high acidity, wines have notes of citrus and vegetables; it corresponds to the modern Grillo wines that we appreciate fresh, and it is the basis of actual Marsala (along with Catarratto and Inzolia.
Biotype B has a loose bunch, low productivity, produces musts with a high sugar concentration, high pH, low acidity, wines have great structure, with descriptors notes of spice and tropical fruit; it corresponds to the Grillo that already existed before the arrival of the British in Marsala (1770), a vine that produces 18 degrees alcohol at the harvest “naturally”, that is, without the need for any fortification.
The problem is that it is virtually impossible to know a priori which wine is of which biotype—in fact, most of the growers do not themselves yet know of which types their vines are. Nadali states that most vines today are of the “A” type, in part because it is more productive; local producers hope, however, to re-introduce the “B” type to wider use.
Factoid: Grillo was used in one of Julius Caesar’s favorite wines, the sweet Mamertino of Messina.
“Grillo can achieve very high levels of potential alcohol when left to hang on the vine. This is a desirable trait in fortified wine, but the modern preference for crisp, low-alcohol Italian white wines does has not advanced Grillo’s popularity. At its best, Grillo shows a range of citrus flavors, usually led by lemon. Most modern examples are competitively priced.”
“Grillo is a versatile grape; some wines have a lovely freshness, a subtle fruitness, stunning acids and finish that goes towards the Sea with some saltiness. In the next you might find a wine where the fruit is warmer and sweeter, with exotic fruits and or has aromatic notes – that takes it towards a sauvignon blanc. And when you think you’ve got it – you find yourself with a slightly oxidized wine with fresh fruits and great complexity – one that just blows your taste buds away. It’s a wine makers grape, it’s a grape that brings terroir, it’s a winelovers grape! It is obvious that the terroir is important as well as the wine making when it comes to the style of wine. In this case there is also another thing in play; there are two biotypes of grillo, called A and B. A tends to have more acids, lower sugar and more citrus flavours and B more sugar, tropical fruit and aromatic spice.”
“This variety can attain high levels of alcohol especially when it is left long to hang on its vines…its modern versions have already come up with Italian white wines that carry the crisp flavor and low alcohol levels…As for its good side, the Grillo comes with a wide range of citrus flavors and normally emphasizes the hint of lemon above all. Its modern outcomes these days are more competitively priced in the wine market…The sensation it brings to your palate can be light yet persistent especially with its delicate fruit notes.”
“The wine it produces can be moderately acidic, full bodied, and aromatic, with notes of jasmine, pear, quince, lemon, cashews, and sometimes and overriding smokiness.”
“But now and again, a Grillo-based white dramatically exceeds expectations, demonstrating that there’s real quality in this variety for the producer willing to make the effort to bring it out.”
“A true chameleon! A grape variety with ‘super camouflaging powers.’ The wines made from it can have so many different styles…I have selected a couple of important things from almost two pages about the variety that I found in the book: ‘Late-harvested coastal Grillo wines can be a distinctive gold that turns amber with time. They have a light nose of citrus fruits, apple, and almonds. Wine texture is solid, by virtue of high glycerin content. The taste is slightly astringent and salty in the mouth. These wine’s acidity remains average, yet their alcohol levels can reach 18 percent… – If Grillo is protected from oxygen before, during, and after a cool fermentation, it can acquire grapefruit and passion fruit smells not dissimilar to those in Sauvignon Blanc…’”
“I’ve heard that Grillo can make decent wines, similar to full-flavored tropical Chardonnay but I can only judge based on the one I tried. It was outstanding in one way – it was maybe the lamest, most boring wine I’ve had in months. And in my odyssey of exploring more Italian wines, this is a profound fail.”
“Though Grillo’s organoleptic characteristics are almost nothing like the Burgundian/Californian juice giant that is Chardonnay, Grillo is every bit as muscular, structured, and complex, and on the right day I might tell you even more so. This is the kind of white that if served at room temperature to a blindfolded drinker could be mistaken for a red wine due to its intensity, weight, and almost tannic structure.”
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Some Descriptions of Grillo Wines
“Grillo can achieve very high levels of potential alcohol when left to hang on the vine. This is a desirable trait in fortified wine, but the modern preference for crisp, low-alcohol Italian white wines does has not advanced Grillo’s popularity. At its best, Grillo shows a range of citrus flavors, usually led by lemon. Most modern examples are competitively priced.”
“Grillo is a versatile grape; some wines have a lovely freshness, a subtle fruitness, stunning acids and finish that goes towards the Sea with some saltiness. In the next you might find a wine where the fruit is warmer and sweeter, with exotic fruits and or has aromatic notes – that takes it towards a sauvignon blanc. And when you think you’ve got it – you find yourself with a slightly oxidized wine with fresh fruits and great complexity – one that just blows your taste buds away. It’s a wine makers grape, it’s a grape that brings terroir, it’s a winelovers grape! It is obvious that the terroir is important as well as the wine making when it comes to the style of wine. In this case there is also another thing in play; there are two biotypes of grillo, called A and B. A tends to have more acids, lower sugar and more citrus flavours and B more sugar, tropical fruit and aromatic spice.”
“This variety can attain high levels of alcohol especially when it is left long to hang on its vines…its modern versions have already come up with Italian white wines that carry the crisp flavor and low alcohol levels…As for its good side, the Grillo comes with a wide range of citrus flavors and normally emphasizes the hint of lemon above all. Its modern outcomes these days are more competitively priced in the wine market…The sensation it brings to your palate can be light yet persistent especially with its delicate fruit notes.”
“The wine it produces can be moderately acidic, full bodied, and aromatic, with notes of jasmine, pear, quince, lemon, cashews, and sometimes and overriding smokiness.”
“But now and again, a Grillo-based white dramatically exceeds expectations, demonstrating that there’s real quality in this variety for the producer willing to make the effort to bring it out.”
“A true chameleon! A grape variety with ‘super camouflaging powers.’ The wines made from it can have so many different styles…I have selected a couple of important things from almost two pages about the variety that I found in the book: ‘Late-harvested coastal Grillo wines can be a distinctive gold that turns amber with time. They have a light nose of citrus fruits, apple, and almonds. Wine texture is solid, by virtue of high glycerin content. The taste is slightly astringent and salty in the mouth. These wine’s acidity remains average, yet their alcohol levels can reach 18 percent… – If Grillo is protected from oxygen before, during, and after a cool fermentation, it can acquire grapefruit and passion fruit smells not dissimilar to those in Sauvignon Blanc…’”
“I’ve heard that Grillo can make decent wines, similar to full-flavored tropical Chardonnay but I can only judge based on the one I tried. It was outstanding in one way – it was maybe the lamest, most boring wine I’ve had in months. And in my odyssey of exploring more Italian wines, this is a profound fail.”
“As a table wine Grillo can have pleasant notes of citrus and high acidity, as well as an affinity for new oak, but these examples are very rare.”
“Though Grillo’s organoleptic characteristics are almost nothing like the Burgundian/Californian juice giant that is Chardonnay, Grillo is every bit as muscular, structured, and complex, and on the right day I might tell you even more so. This is the kind of white that if served at room temperature to a blindfolded drinker could be mistaken for a red wine due to its intensity, weight, and almost tannic structure.”