Grechetto () or Grechetto bianco is a white

Italian wine Italian wine () is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, as well as the List of wine-producing regions#Countries, world's ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, Zante currant, currant, sultana (grape), sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimp ...

of Greek origins. The grape is planted throughout central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, particularly in the

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

region where it is used in the ''

Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

'' (DOC)

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

and ''

'' (DOC)

Valdichiana Toscana. It is primarily a blending grape, though some

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

wine is also produced. Grechetto is commonly blended with

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

Malvasia Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...

Trebbiano Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

and Verdello. The grape's thick skin provides good resistance to

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of c ...

which can attack the grape late in the

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

season. This makes Grechetto a suitable blending grape in the production of '' Vin Santo''. J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 326 Oxford University Press 2006

Wine regions

In Italy, the Grechetto grape is found in DOCs of the central region-most notably

and

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Foiano region as well as the DOCs Valdichiana Toscana, DOCs of

Torgiano Torgiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italy, Italian region Umbria, located about 10 km southeast of Perugia. Torgiano borders the following municipalities: Bastia Umbra, Bettona, Deruta, Perugia. It is on ...

and Colli Martani. The grape has been developing more of a presence in the area as

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

s are finding more potential in the grape than in the other main Umbria white

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimportant to agriculture, see ''V ...

- Drupeggio and

. In

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, the grape is found in the Cervaro region where the Antinori family has actively promoted its Cervaro blend of Grechetto and Chardonnay. Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 112 Harcourt Books 2001

Viticulture and winemaking

The thick skin of Grechetto grapes allows the grape to be harvested late with high

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

levels. This works well in the production of

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

s. There are at least two sub-varieties of Grechetto-Grechetto di Todi and Grechetto Spoletino with the former being more widely planted in the area. The Grechetto vine is low yielding and able to produce concentrated flavors. The grape is primarily used as a blending grape where it adds richness and structure to the wines. It is most often blended with Chardonnay, Trebbiano, Malvasia and Verdello. In Umbria, Grechetto can add herbal and nutty flavors to the wine.

Synonyms

Grechetto is also known under the synonyms Greca del Piemonte, Grecherello, Grechetto bianco, Grechetto di Todi, Grechetto Nostrale, Greco, Greco bianco di Perugia, Greco Gentile, Greco Spoletino, Montanarino Bianco, Montanaro, Occhietto, Pignoletto, Pistillo, Pizzinculo, Pocinculo, Pulce, Pulcincolo, Pulcinculo bianco, Pulcinculu, Pulcinella, Stroppa Volpe, Strozza Volpe, Strozzavolpe, and Uva di San Marino.Grechetto bianco
,

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...

, accessed 2010-11-24 Despite having a synonym with a similar name, the grape is of no relation to the Greco bianco grape of the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

region.

References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties Wine grapes of Italy Grape varieties of Greece