Grape Glossary

This white grape variety from Sicily was once used to produce the best Marsala. Grown on alberello-trained (bush-trained) vines, Grillo produces a bold, full-bodied wine that is often blended with the more aromatic Inzolia grape. Grillo has declined along with Marsala and has been mostly replaced by the more vigorous Catarratto, Sicily’s most popular white wine variety. Grillo can produce charming, modern and hearty wines of quality, despite lacking the intense and distinctive aromas of other white grapes that have spurred recent winemaker interest, like Inzolia. About 2,300 hectares (5,750 acres) of Grillo are planted, or around 3% of the white grapes planted in Sicily.