The most intriguing Grillo I tasted in Sicily came from a vineyard a few yards from the sea.
Barraco makes it with no temperature control and very little sulphur, and leaves it unfiltered. The result tastes of honey and orange, with an oxidative edge that still feels fresh. It reminded me of traditional Marsala, or perhaps of what Marsala might have been before the British arrived and started fortifying it.
That one glass brought together everything the trip seemed to be about: an island marked by centuries of outsiders, now trying to find its own voice again.
An island of conquerors
Sicily has been shaped by the people who took it. Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spanish have all left their mark, and in Marsala the British left theirs too, when English merchants turned the local wine into the fortified Marsala we know today. You can even taste the history in grape names: Zibibbo comes from the Arabic word for raisin.
In more recent times the conquerors have been economic. For years, supermarket pricing and EU subsidies gave growers little reason to do anything but sell their grapes to co-operatives for cheap wine.
What I saw in western Sicily was a different story. There’s a push to return to local grapes and understand how they express themselves naturally, without borrowing a style from elsewhere or having one imposed. At the regional nursery vineyards in Marsala I was shown experiments crossing native Sicilian varieties with Georgia’s ancient Saperavi, with an eye on how the climate may change in the years ahead. It’s a long game, since vineyards take a generation to show what they can do.
A grape that can handle the heat
Before this trip, my experience of Grillo was limited to whatever my local UK supermarket stocked. A tasting guided by Mai Tjemsland MW and Antonio Rallo, of the Donnafugata family and at the time president of Assovini Sicilia, changed that, showing just how many styles the grape can take on in western Sicily.
Grillo is hardy. It copes with salt air and the hot winds that blow in from Africa, and keeps a fresh, lively acidity. Many of the wines had a touch of saltiness that gives them sapidity, that savoury quality that makes you reach for another sip.
The range was wide enough to make me wonder whether these wines reflect the winemaker more than the land.
When I got back to London, I happened to be at the opening of 28°-50° on Maddox Street, with seafood on the menu. Ordering a glass of Grillo felt like the obvious thing to do.
The tasting
Set 1
Fondo Antico Grillo Parlante, Sicilia IGT 2012. Bright, cheerful aromas of apple, citrus and stone fruit, with a touch of minerality and a ripe finish.
Marco De Bartoli Grappoli del Grillo, Sicilia IGP 2011. In complete contrast, a serious and complex wine from a family known for its traditional approach to Marsala. Fermented in steel, finished partly in barrique and then aged in oak. The oak shows, but there’s enough fruit that nothing is masked, with mineral and salty notes running through it. It could see you through an eight-course meal, which is not unheard of in Sicily.
Set 2
Donnafugata SurSur Grillo, Sicilia DOC 2012. Before you even taste it, the name Donnafugata conjures palms, vineyards and the drama of The Leopard. Grown on rich soils between Marsala and Salemi, it has a strong stone fruit character around a core of salty minerality. The emphasis is on freshness and lightness.
Funaro Pinzeri, Terre Siciliane IGP 2012. Apart from the Greek temple at Segesta, this area is best known for the co-operatives of “old Sicily”, and Funaro is one of the estates that now bottles its own wine instead of selling its grapes. Dense on the palate with concentrated stone fruit, showing its longer time on the lees.
Set 3
Gorghi Tondi Kheirè, Sicilia DOC 2012. Down on the southern coast by the sea. Spicy, with intense tropical fruit on the mid-palate and a flush of minerality. It reminded me of a grassy Sauvignon Blanc, but one I liked better, which is saying something, since I’m no great fan of Sauvignon Blanc.
Baglio del Cristo di Campobello Laluci, Sicilia DOC 2012. Taste the sea. A wave of fruit carried on bright acidity through to a lemony finish. Less aromatic, with a fresh herb-garden character, slate-like mineral notes and a lip-smacking salty finish.
Set 4
Fazio Aegades, Erice DOC 2012. Named for the medieval hilltop town of Erice, near Trapani. Dense and well made, with a full mid-palate and a solid tropical finish. Sunshine in liquid form.
Caruso & Minini Timpune, Sicilia DOC 2012. The best of Sicily is a little Baroque, with Islamic influences in the food, the architecture and the interiors, and perhaps in the wines too. Creamy and salty at the same time, it would sit well beside a fish couscous rich with tomatoes and garlic. This is fishing country, after all, and it’s a good wine for seafood.
Set 5
Duca di Castelmonte (Pellegrino) Dinari del Duca, Sicilia IGT 2012. An easy-going wine for a sunny afternoon by the sea. Light touches of fruit, a soft palate and a firm finish. It holds enough of your attention without intruding on your thoughts, which is no criticism if you want something to share with friends at the weekend.
Barraco Grillo, Sicilia IGT 2011. The most debated wine of the tasting, and a real exploration of how far natural wine can go in Sicily. Producers told us the sea winds help keep disease at bay, so there’s less need to spray. Barraco pushes things further with no temperature control and low sulphur, and the wine is neither filtered nor clarified. Honey and orange, oxidative, yet still fresh. Having visited the traditional Marsala wineries and then Barraco’s vineyard by the ocean, I found it genuinely intriguing.
Fondo Antico Il Coro, Sicilia IGT 2011. The opposite of the Barraco: a “Burgundian” Grillo with a nod towards Puligny-Montrachet. Whether that’s a good thing depends on what you’re after. For a deep sense of place, the Barraco. For a serious white wine in a modern style, this one.
The tasting took me from the polish of Il Coro back to that unfiltered glass from the vineyard by the sea, which, of all the wines that day, seemed to remember most clearly where it came from.
The tasting took place at the IRVOS experimental winery in Marsala in September 2013. The trip was sponsored and organised by the Regione Siciliana’s Istituto Regionale Vini e Oli, in collaboration with Fermenti Digitali and Proposta.
Archive note: The Saperavi crossing experiments are described as I was shown them in 2013, and I haven’t been able to confirm what became of them. The wines, vintages and people’s roles are given as they were at the time.
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