White Grape · Sicily

Grillo

Grillo is Sicily's comeback white: born from Catarratto and Zibibbo to survive the western-island sun, it once filled the barrels of fortified Marsala and now stands alone as a saline, citrus-and-green-tea dry white with acidity to spare.

Grillo (say GREE-loh) is a native grape, widespread in western Sicily. It is a key part of Marsala. Made on its own, it can give very interesting white wines. They have good acidity, high alcohol and a balanced softness. White wines do not usually age well. Grillo can, for up to five years. Its rise to prominence is a story of culture and history, not just of a drink. In a busy London street or out in the quiet countryside, a glass of Grillo tastes of Sicilian sun, and there is something to find in each one.

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Bottles live now
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UK retailers
4
Denominations

Setting it straight

More than meets the eye

vs
The reality

A serious dry white in its own right

  • A generation of western-Sicily estates now treats Grillo as a benchmark, giving it lees ageing, brief skin contact and sometimes oak to build a full, textured dry wine.
  • In the glass it is saline and firm: lemon and grapefruit pith, a green-tea and Mediterranean-herb edge, and a line of acidity that survives the heat that ripens it.
  • The high sugar and sun-resistance that once made it perfect fortifying fruit now give a warm, full-bodied dry white with the grip to hold a few years in bottle.
The myth

Just Marsala's anonymous workhorse

  • For over a century Grillo was grown almost entirely to be fortified into Marsala, valued for sugar and resistance to oxidation rather than for any wine of its own.
  • When Marsala fell out of fashion in the mid-twentieth century, growers pulled Grillo up for higher-yielding vines and its name all but vanished from labels.
  • Fortified Marsala is a separate drink entirely, always fortified and deliberately oxidative; today's dry Grillo is the same grape in a completely different, fresh guise.

The anchor fact: No. Grillo spent over a century as an anonymous grape grown to be fortified into Marsala, but a modern generation of Sicilian growers has remade it as one of the island's most serious dry white wines in its own right.

Taste · Where it sits

What it’s actually like in the glass

Forget scores out of five. Here’s Grillo described against grapes you already know.

BodyFull for a white
LightFull

Fuller and warmer than most Italian whites: the sun-ripening and high natural alcohol that once suited it to Marsala give a broad, almost waxy mid-palate, closer to Fiano than to a featherlight coastal white.

TanninFaint grip
NoneGrippy

A white, so there is no true tannin, but Grillo leaves a light phenolic grip and a faintly bitter green-tea pull, firmer in the skin-contact bottlings from growers like COS.

AcidityFirm, heat-proof
SoftRacy

High and firm, and remarkable for holding on through the heat that ripens it: where many sun-baked whites turn flat, Grillo keeps a saline, citrus-pith cut, the very reason it was revived as a dry wine.

Fruit & sweetnessBone-dry, citrus-led
Bone-drySweet

Always bone-dry now, whatever its sweet Marsala past: the fruit is lemon, grapefruit and ripe melon, lifted by orange blossom from its Muscat parent and cut with a green, herbal bitterness.

Key flavours

Black pepper
The peppery snap that shows most in the wines given a little skin contact, a dry, savoury spice that answers Grillo's warm, high-alcohol body.
Melon
Ripe melon and yellow stone fruit through the middle, the generous, sun-fed fruit that comes of ripening in the western-Sicily heat.
Orange blossom
A lifted orange-blossom perfume inherited from Zibibbo, Grillo's aromatic Muscat parent, the floral signature no amount of Marsala ever bred out.
Citrusy fruit
Lemon and grapefruit pith, cutting rather than sweet: this citric spine is what Sicilian growers rebuilt Grillo's dry reputation on after its Marsala century.
Green tea
A gentle green-tea and dried-herb bitterness on the back palate, the savoury Sicilian tell that keeps Grillo from ever tasting like a simple citrus quaffer.
Racy · Crisp Round · Soft Light-bodied Bold · Full Chardonnay Glera Pinot Grigio Sauvignon Blanc Vermentino Pinot Bianco
Grillo

The map

Grillo is medium-bodied, crisp, fresh acidity, mapped against other white grapes you can buy. The closer a grape sits, the more its weight and freshness resemble Grillo.

Grillomedium-bodied, crisp, fresh acidity
Chardonnayrounder
Gleralighter
Pinot Grigiolighter
Sauvignon Blanclighter, crisper
Vermentinolighter
Pinot Biancolighter, rounder

Is this for you?

An honest gut-check

Reach for it when…

A bold red that just works

  • You want a white with real body and grip that still drinks bone-dry and fresh: a proper step up in weight from Pinot Grigio, built for a summer table.
  • You are eating western-Sicilian: swordfish, sardines or arancini, the food of the sea around Marsala and Trapani that the grape grew up beside.
  • You like a wine with a story in the glass: the same variety that once filled Marsala barrels, now a serious dry white you can taste the revival in.

Maybe skip it if…

You’re after something else tonight

  • You actually want Marsala: dry Grillo is fresh and unfortified, a completely different wine from the sweet, oxidative fortified bottle of the same island.
  • You want a light, low-alcohol aperitivo sipper: Grillo runs warm and full-bodied, a legacy of the sun and the high sugar that once made it fortifying fruit.
  • You prefer a soft, simply fruity white: Grillo is dry and saline, edged with green tea and pepper, savoury far more than sweet.

Serving guide

Pour it at its best

Serve at

10-12°C

Serve cold at 10 to 12C: cool enough to keep the saline citrus sharp, but not so icy that Grillo's fuller body and herb notes go numb.

Decant

Not needed

No decanter. Grillo lives on fresh citrus-and-herb lift that air only tires; just pour it cold from the fridge.

Glass

Chardonnay Glass

A wider Chardonnay-style glass flatters its fuller body, giving the orange-blossom and green-tea aromatics room to open.

Drink within

3-5 days

Once opened it keeps well for 3 to 5 days in the fridge; the firm acidity holds it fresher than a lighter white would.

Cellar

Up to 5 years

Most Grillo is made to drink young, but the structured, higher-alcohol bottlings from the Marsala growers can hold and deepen for up to five years.

On the table

What to eat with Grillo

Start with the home-table matches that made the grape, then browse the full cuisine library.

Pesce spada alla Siciliana

The western-Sicily home plate

Pesce spada alla Siciliana

Swordfish is the fish of Grillo's home waters off Trapani and Marsala; the wine's fuller body stands up to the meaty steak while its saline citrus and herbs answer the capers, tomato and oregano.
Arancini

Cut clean through the fry

Arancini

Golden fried rice balls need acid, and Grillo's firm, heat-proof line slices the richness while its green-tea bitterness keeps pace with the saffron and ragu tucked inside.
Squid ink risotto

Salt meets salt

Squid ink risotto

The briny, iodine depth of squid-ink risotto meets Grillo's own salinity head on, and the citrus-pith cut lifts a dish that can otherwise turn heavy and dark.
Ceviche

Citrus on citrus

Ceviche

Lime-cured raw fish mirrors Grillo's lemon and grapefruit acidity, while the grape's ripe melon and pepper carry the chilli and coriander instead of being blown away by them.

Browse every pairing

Mexican Mexican
Fish & Seafood 5
Italian Italian
Antipasti 1 Fish and seafood 1 Pizza, Focaccia and Italian Flatbreads 1 Risotto 1
Chinese Chinese
Dim sum 1

Buy it · three to start with

Not sure which bottle? Start here

A curated trio across the price range, then every Grillo on sale in the UK right now.

Entry · everyday

Era Grillo Organic

Era Grillo Organic

2 retailers

£9.85

View Wine

Why this one: Cantine Volpi's organic Era is the honest everyday face of the grape: 100 percent Grillo off older Sicilian vines, briefly rested on its skins, all clean lemon, melon and saline snap. The cheapest, clearest way to meet dry Grillo before style or ambition enter.

The sweet spot

Planeta Terebinto Grillo

Planeta Terebinto Grillo

Menfi

4 retailers

£16.10

View Wine

Why this one: No house did more to make Sicilian Grillo respectable than Planeta, and Terebinto is its pure-varietal benchmark: 100 percent Grillo from Menfi, three months on the fine lees, with lychee-edged fruit, Mediterranean herbs and a firm mineral close. The modern dry style at its most polished.

12 of 52 bottles

Denominations

Where it earns a name on the label

The appellations where Grillo plays a starring role.

MarsalaDOC PugliaIGT SalentoIGT SiciliaDOC

Where it grows

Where Grillo grows in Sicily

Sicily wine region

Sicily

Volcanic Nerello on Etna's black terraces, sun-baked Nero d'Avola on the south-east coast, fortified Marsala in Trapani and UNESCO Zibibbo on Pantelleria: Sicily holds Italy's widest single-region wine map.

740 wines · 31 denominations
Explore the Sicily guide

The terroir

Grillo belongs to far western Sicily, ripened by fierce sun yet cooled by the sea that surrounds it on almost every side; the same grape reads differently from the old Marsala flats to the clay-limestone country further south.

Marsala

The sun-baked coastal zone at Sicily's western tip, in Trapani province

Grillo's historic heartland, where it was grown to be fortified; today the same low, saline vineyards give the fullest, most structured dry versions and the wines that launched its revival.

Trapani and the coast

The broad western plain running north and inland from Marsala

Sicily's Grillo engine-room and the island's most-planted white zone, where sea breezes keep the fruit fresh and saline for the crisp, modern dry style.

Menfi and the south

The clay-limestone country of the Agrigento coast, south-east of Marsala

Calcareous, clay-limestone sites where benchmark estates such as Planeta grow a riper, rounder Grillo, full of Mediterranean herb and stone fruit with a firm mineral spine.

Producers

The estates that make it

14 estates on the site work with Grillo. Eight at a time, and the line-up changes every week.

Planeta Est. 1995
Sicily · Menfi

Planeta

Planeta is one of Sicily's most influential wine families. Farm records place the family on the island from 1694, and the modern wine project began at the Ulmo estate near Menfi in 1995. The linked bottle range currently centres on Sicilia DOC, Etna DOC and Menfi DOC, with grapes such as Nero d'Avola, Carricante and Chardonnay.

41wines From £12.50
Feudi del Pisciotto
Sicily · Niscemi

Feudi del Pisciotto

A restored 18th-century Sicilian farm in the Cerasuolo di Vittoria zone: designer-label wines, a glass-floored cellar restaurant and fifteen rooms among the vines.

24wines From £16.40
Casa Vinicola Firriato
Sicily · Paceco

Casa Vinicola Firriato

The Di Gaetano family's estate in the hills behind Trapani, started in the early 1980s and certified organic across all its vineyards. Harmonium Nero d'Avola, Ribeca Perricone and the Altavilla della Corte Grillo lead the range, with Etna reds and whites from the Cavanera estate and a seaside white from Favignana. Tastings, meals and rooms at Baglio Sorìa, booked online.

28wines From £15
Cusumano Est. 2001
Sicily · Partinico

Cusumano

Founded in 2001 by brothers Diego and Alberto Cusumano, this Partinico family winery farms more than 500 hectares across western Sicily and, under the Alta Mora label, the northern slopes of Etna. Sàgana from Butera and Alta Mora Guardiola are the bottles to know, and SOStain Sicilia certification covers the whole range.

23wines From £11.51
Tasca d'Almerita Est. 1830
Sicily · Sclafani Bagni

Tasca d'Almerita

Eight generations at the 550 hectare Tenuta Regaleali since 1830, plus Etna contrada wines, Capofaro's Salina Malvasia and B Corp certified farming. Visits at Regaleali and Tascante, rooms and dining at the Capofaro resort.

35wines From £13.60
Catalano Viticoltori
Sicily · Gela

Catalano Viticoltori

Family winery in the hills near Gela: Grillo, Frappato, Cerasuolo di Vittoria and a gold-medal Syrah, with tastings you can book online.

6wines
Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti Est. 2004
Sicily · Vittoria

Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti

Arianna Occhipinti started with one hectare at Fossa di Lupo in 2004 and now farms vineyards in several districts around Vittoria and Chiaramonte Gulfi. She makes natural Frappato, SP68 and Cerasuolo di Vittoria, and welcomes visitors for tastings at her cellar in Bombolieri.

11wines From £22.50
Cantine Florio Est. 1833
Sicily · Marsala

Cantine Florio

Vincenzo Florio's 1833 cellars on the Marsala seafront, four tufa aisles holding 3,000 casks of Marsala Vergine and Superiore. Now part of the Duca di Salaparuta group, with three bookable tastings and a sea-view terrace.

5wines From £26

Editorial

About Grillo

Grillo can be made on its own or in a blend, as a still wine or a sparkling one. The aromas vary a lot from wine to wine. In the mouth these wines are soft and warm, and they suit every kind of fish.

For most of the twentieth century nobody bottled Grillo on its own. It took Marco de Bartoli, who in 1990 vinified it dry and unfortified in the heart of Marsala country, to prove the grape could stand alone, and to set off the dry-Grillo revival that followed.

Marco de Bartoli, Marsala, 1990

Grillo plays a key role in the Marsala Oro and Ambra blends. These are rich, complex fortified wines with a tradition that runs back centuries. They can be dry, semi-dry or sweet, and they keep well.

The best example is probably the Sambuca di Sicilia Passito, from the province of Agrigento. It is made from a blend of Ansonica and Grillo. The passito versions show intense dried-fruit aromas and taste warm and sweet.

It is said that Grillo began in Puglia. It was brought to Sicily after the invasion of phylloxera. Phylloxera is an insect that destroys vines by ruining their roots. Grillo was first found around Marsala, then spread quickly across the island, because it suits the hot Sicilian climate. Recent studies show it is likely to have come from a cross between Catarratto and Zibibbo.

For decades Grillo had a poor name as a blending wine. Today the picture is radically different and the grape is enjoying new popularity. Modern winemaking has helped. It lets the wine keep the scent and the clean fruit of the grape, without the excess alcohol that comes with over-ripening.

Grillo balances freshness and complexity. It has found a niche among UK wine drinkers who want something a bit different.

Grillo is usually great value for money. A decent bottle costs £8 to £20 on average, though some premium picks sit a little above that.

The zesty side of Grillo suits pasta, above all seafood pasta or sauces built on lemon and herbs. A classic spaghetti alle vongole or a linguine al limone is a fine match.

Saffron risotto or a fresh spring vegetable risotto will harmonise with the many flavours in Grillo.

Lean white meat is a safe bet, such as chicken or turkey cooked with Mediterranean herbs. Rosemary roast chicken is the dish to picture.

Grillo and seafood are an age-old pairing. Go for grilled fish, sea bass or sea bream above all, to set off its crisp, mineral notes.

Soft to medium cheeses work well, above all tangy ones such as feta or a fresh goat cheese. They lift the set of flavours that is Grillo's own.

Given its Mediterranean roots, Grillo goes naturally with Italian fare. It is also an excellent choice with Spanish tapas, or with some Greek mezze dishes, because all three lean on fresh ingredients and bold flavours.

Put Grillo into your wine rotation and you get pairings that suit a wide range of tastes and dishes.

Grillo literally means ‘cricket’. It is a Sicilian white wine with great potential, a strong tie to its land, and a growing following among drinkers all over the world.

Good to know

Frequently asked

It is difficult to identify just one kind of Grillo wine. Grillo can produce a wide range of wines; aromatic dry whites with a good acidity, sweet passitos or intense and rich fortified wines, such as the famous Marsala.

Vinified in purity (meaning single-varietal wines), Grillo can produce fragrant wines of great organoleptic structure. The perfume, distinctly floral, can show hints of melon, but also pear, tea weeds, nettle leaves and dried flowers. On the palate, Grillo wines are warm, very balanced and harmonious with their dry and slightly astringent taste.

Grillo produces excellent dry wines. Nonetheless this grape can be used in blends both for dry, fortified and delicious sweet wines.

Grillo is grown in Southern Italy, on the island of Sicily and in the regions of Puglia and Basilicata. In Sicily, it is widespread throughout the entire territory, but it is mostly produced in the western side, in the provinces of Trapani, Agrigento and Palermo.

Grillo wines are characterised by a wonderful fragrance and an aromaticity that make them exemplary pairings for a long list of foods. From shellfish and seafood appetisers, to first and second courses based on fish and vegetables. Grillo can be matched with fried crustaceans, white meats, eggs and salami.

Grillo is pronounced as [ˈɡrɪl.lo]. In a simplified form, it sounds like "GREE-lo." The emphasis is on the first syllable, with a rolled 'r' and a clear 'o' sound at the end.

Explore by style

Wine styles made from Grillo

Jump to the editorial guide for each style this grape turns up in.

Keep exploring

More white grapes