Indigenous Grapes

Ingidenous Grapes

With such a plethora of terroirs and microclimates under vine, it’s no wonder that Western Sicily provides perfect growing conditions for an array of different varieties. Pellegrino have turned their hand to a huge number of them – from international stars like Syrah to Sicilian specialities like Nero d’Avola.

But where their heart truly lies is in the varieties indigenous to their home around Marsala itself – grapes that grow better here than anywhere else in the world.

Arguably top of that list is Grillo. A stalwart of Marsala for well over a century, it has emerged as a bona fide thoroughbred variety for making thrilling, fresh, scintillating and mineral white wines – even in the high temperatures experienced in the area. The very best examples grow by the coast, where cooling year-round sea breezes add a mouthwatering salinity and supreme elegance to Grillo’s natural flavours of lemon blossom and juniper.

Rapidly emerging as its red counterpart is Perricone. Itself a staple in Marsala Rubino, it makes dark, wild table wines, especially when grown in the clay-rich soils a little further inland. With twists of herbs entwining with dark, berry fruit amidst beautiful structure and tension, it’s a truly idiosyncratic and delicious stamp of Western Sicilian identity.