Il Grechetto

Grechetto is one of the most representative white grape varieties of Umbria. Already described by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia as "pecularis umbro," it probably has a Greek origin, just like other grape varieties that have a similar name but different ampelographic characteristics, such as Greco, Grecanico, and Greco Bianco. These grape varieties were probably imported by the settlers who founded the first colonies in Magna Graecia from the 8th century BC. The Grechetto family consists of two types of grape varieties, Grechetto di Orvieto (clone G109) and Grechetto di Todi (clone G5), also known as Grechetto Gentile, genetically similar to the Pignoletto from Bologna and the Rebula or Ribolla Riminese. The latter has a more pronounced freshness and a trace of flavors with more aromatic tones and less almond-like than the former; Grechetto di Orvieto, on the other hand, has more character, structure, and alcohol content and is often blended with other grape varieties (Procanico, Drupeggio, and/or native white grape varieties) in the local DOC to add notes of freshness and balance. On its own, it is particularly successful in the passito version and even more so in the muffato (botrytized) version.