Grape Guide
Grechetto Di Orvieto
WhiteGrechetto di Orvieto is a white grape of central Italy, grown mainly in Umbria, where it adds body, almond-edged flavour and a faintly creamy texture to the Orvieto blend and to varietal wines from Colli Martani, Montefalco and Assisi. Its thick skins resist downy mildew, and it ripens mid to late in the season.
Key characteristics
- Thick-skinned, with good resistance to downy mildew
- Ripens mid to late in the season
- Distinct from Grechetto di Todi, which is the same as or very close to Pignoletto
- Usually blended with Procanico (Trebbiano Toscano), but also bottled as a varietal
- Concentrated in Umbria, with about 86 percent of Italian plantings
Typical flavors
Major regions
Orvieto DOC (Umbria) · Colli Martani DOC (Umbria) · Montefalco DOC (Umbria) · Torgiano (Umbria) · Colli del Trasimeno (Umbria) · Assisi DOC (Umbria) · Lazio and Tuscany (minor)
Also known as
Grechetto · Grechetto Bianco · Grechetto Spoletino
Grechetto di Orvieto is the more widely planted of two Umbrian vines that are both sold simply as Grechetto. The wines are medium-bodied and dry, with citrus and white orchard fruit, a light herbal note and a finish of bitter almond. Good examples have a gently creamy texture without heavy oak, and acidity that holds steady through the second half of the ripening season.
In the cellar it is valued for structure more than perfume. Within the Orvieto DOC it supplies weight and length to blends led by Procanico, the local name for Trebbiano Toscano, while varietal bottlings from Colli Martani, Montefalco, Assisi and the hills above Lake Trasimeno show its fuller side. A small share of it also lends texture to a few Tuscan and Lazio whites, and it appears in some Umbrian sparkling wines. Most bottles are meant for drinking within a few years, although the best oak-aged or lees-aged versions hold longer.
The name Grechetto means little Greek, and it belongs to a family of central and southern Italian vines whose names evoke Greek-style, often sweet, wines. The name records a style and a tradition rather than proof of Greek descent. Grechetto di Orvieto has long been grown around Orvieto and the Tiber valley of Umbria, though its first documented plantings cannot be dated with confidence.
For decades growers and appellation rules treated all Grechetto as one vine. Ampelographic work and later DNA profiling separated two distinct varieties: Grechetto di Orvieto, often associated with clone G109, and Grechetto di Todi, associated with G5. Grechetto di Todi is identical to, or very close to, Pignoletto of Emilia-Romagna, also called Rebola around Rimini. Microsatellite analysis in the early 2000s reported a parent and offspring relationship between Grechetto di Orvieto and the Todi/Pignoletto vine, which would explain why they were long taken for clones of one variety. Not every authority accepts this, and the direction of the relationship is uncertain.
The confusion persists in practice. Census figures and most appellation rules record plain Grechetto without saying which vine is meant, and only the Colli Martani and Todi DOC rules use the name Grechetto di Todi for a wine. About 1,200 ha were counted in the 2000 agricultural census; more recent estimates run above 2,000 ha, roughly 86 percent in Umbria, with smaller areas in Lazio and Tuscany.
Grechetto di Orvieto has thick skins, which give good protection against downy mildew and help the grapes cope with damp autumns in the Umbrian hills. It ripens mid to late in the season, so it suits sites with reliable autumn warmth rather than the coolest hillsides. Moderate yields matter, because heavy crops quickly produce a neutral wine. The bitter almond finish typical of the variety is accentuated by hard pressing or very early picking. Because the two Grechetto vines are often interplanted and have long been mixed in nurseries, a vineyard recorded simply as Grechetto may contain either, and G109 and G5 are the clone names most often cited for Orvieto and Todi respectively.
The commonest use is as a blending partner. Orvieto DOC requires Procanico (Trebbiano Toscano) and Grechetto together to reach at least 60 percent of the blend, and Grechetto brings the structure and almond tone that Trebbiano lacks. Torgiano Bianco allows Grechetto alongside Trebbiano Toscano. Varietal wines are made at Colli Martani, where Grechetto must reach 85 percent, with the Todi subzone requiring a higher minimum alcohol of 12 percent; Montefalco, where the Bianco requires at least half Grechetto; and Assisi, Colli Perugini, Colli del Trasimeno and Colli Amerini. Fermentation in steel gives a lean, citrusy style; lees contact, partial barrel work or a period of skin contact adds weight and a waxy, nutty depth. It also goes into some Umbrian sparkling wines and, in Tuscany, into Vin Santo. Antinori's Cervaro della Sala uses a small share of Grechetto, varying by vintage, to support Chardonnay.
Where it grows
Orvieto and the Orvieto Classico zone
Within a DOC that dates from 1971 and spans about 2,100 ha, Grechetto is paired with Procanico and with local varieties such as Verdello and Drupeggio. The historic heart of the zone is the Classico area in Umbria, where the soils are of tufa, limestone and volcanic origin.
Colli Martani and Todi
Created in 1988, the Colli Martani DOC includes a Grechetto wine that must contain at least 85 percent of the variety. The Todi subzone takes in vineyards inside the commune of Todi, which is the home of the related Grechetto di Todi vine.
Montefalco
The area is better known for Sagrantino, yet it also makes white wines in which Grechetto must account for at least half of the Bianco blend. Varietal Montefalco Grechetto reaches roughly 300,000 bottles a year, and Terre de la Custodia is among the estates working with it.
Torgiano and Lake Trasimeno
In Torgiano, Lungarotti bottles a varietal Grechetto under the Umbria IGT, a clean and dependable example with citrus, white fruit and an almond edge. Varietal versions are also permitted in the Colli Perugini and in the Colli del Trasimeno around the lake.
Tuscany, Lazio and Marche
Several DOCs authorise smaller plantings, among them Cortona, Montecucco and Bianco di Pitigliano, although their rules seldom specify which Grechetto is meant.