Grillo from the far west of Sicily, grown on the low hills behind the coast between Marsala and Mazara del Vallo, and bottled as Sicilia DOC. Cristo di Campobello farms it, and the 2024 vintage keeps the grape's natural freshness intact.
- Grillo, Sicily's workhorse white grape.
- Sicilia DOC, the island's regional appellation.
- 2024, a bright, clean vintage for Sicilian whites.
- 13% ABV, dry, medium body, low tannin.
- Medium acidity, with a saline edge.
How it is made
Grillo is a crossing, bred in Sicily in the early 1900s from Catarratto and Zibibbo, and it spent most of the last century going into Marsala rather than into bottles like this one. Modern winemaking treats it as a dry white: gentle pressing, cool fermentation in stainless steel, no oak, so the grape's aromatics stay where they started. It keeps its acidity well in the heat, which is why it holds up on the island's south coast.
How it tastes
Intense aromas of yellow and white flowers with mineral notes, turning to citrus fruits, white peach and green apple. On the palate there is yellow peach and citrus zest, a touch of almond on the finish, and a saline minerality that runs underneath. Crisp acidity, medium body, dry throughout.
Where it comes from
Sicily's western tip, the province of Trapani, where vineyards sit close to the sea and pick up that salty note in the air. Grillo is the island's most planted white grape now, and the DOC covers the whole of Sicily, which means the label tells you the grape and the island but not the hill.
Good to know
Grillo was nearly a Marsala grape and nothing else. The style only took off as a dry table wine in the 1990s, when Sicilian producers started bottling it on its own, and it has since become the island's answer to Vermentino and Greco.
