GRANCARE GRECO DI TUFO DOCG

Italian Wine from Campania

Grapes: 100% Greco di Tufo.

Production area

Vineyards located in the highest areas of the municipalities of Torrioni and Montefusco

Altitude: 600 – 750 m s.l.m.

Type of soil

Predominantly clayey and silty with good limestone and presence of volcanic elements.

Winemaking

The grapes are harvested by hand around the middle of October and are strictly selected, whole pressed and only the must is decanted cold and then inoculated for alcoholic fermentation.

The fermentation takes place for one part in French oak barrels and for the remaining part in low temperature steel.

The wine remains in aging sur-lie, always in wood and steel, and finally refines at least 6 months in the bottle.

Organoleptic characteristics

Color: crystalline, golden yellow.
Aroma: notes of ripe fruit, peach, tropical fruit, candied fruit, apple juice and light toasting give way to an elegant powder note.
Taste: intense, full and fine. Good balance. Wine with long persistence.

Gastronomic matches

Dishes with a good structure both based on fish and white meat, bluefish or cod, fried fish, also ideal for ethnic dishes, vegetable soups and medium-aged cheeses.

Best served at a temperature of 12 ° C / 14 ° C.

The Grapes Greco di Tufo

Greco Bianco (or simply Greco) or Greco di Tufo is an ancient, light-skinned grape variety thought to have originated in Greece (whence the name) but now grown throughout southern Italy. A tiny amount of Greco is now also grown in Langhorne Creek, South Australia.

Because of Greco’s long history (at least 2000 years), it is thought to have mutated into many different strains, so it can be difficult to identify the lineage of some vines. Recent DNA profiling has proven that Greco Bianco is genetically identical to Asprinio, the name the variety goes by in some parts of coastal Campania. Although the name Asprinio is much less widely used, it is not likely to disappear any time soon, particularly as it still has its own DOC title, Aversa Asprinio, which covers both still and sparkling (spumante) styles.

Armed with excellent acidity and a fresh, clean, grapey flavor profile, Greco wines are best consumed young. They tend to oxidize in bottle relatively quickly (within just a few years of vintage), resulting in nutty, caramelized flavors.

The vast majority of the world's Greco Bianco vines are situated in Campania and Calabria. The variety is at its most significant, in terms of both quality and quantity, around the Campanian town of Tufo, where it is made into a dry white Greco di Tufo wine. In Calabria, at the very southern, tip of the Italian Peninsula, the coastal town of Bianco is home to a passito-style wine known as Greco di Bianco.

Greco is used for other blended wines from the south. The simple island wines of Capri are predominantly Greco (Falanghina as a common blending partner) while in Puglia, the Gravina Bianco wines are based on a 50 percent base of Greco Bianco topped up with various proportions of Malvasia Bianca, Fiano, Verdeca and Chardonnay.

Greco di Tufo Wine

Greco di Tufo is a DOCG of the Campania wine region in southern Italy. It is responsible for what is arguably the region's most prestigious white wine, made predominantly from the grape variety that shares its name. The Greco di Tufo grape is a clone of Greco Bianco and is believed to have been introduced to Campania by the Pelasgians, an ancient people from Thessaly in Greece. The name Tufo refers not only to one of the villages from which the wine comes, but also the type of rock on which the village was built.

The vines from which Greco di Tufo wines are made are cultivated at an altitude of 1310–1640ft (450–500m), where the cooler temperatures allow grapes to enjoy the persistent summer sunshine without overheating or having their photosynthesis shut down. This allows them to ripen without losing too much acidity, an effect magnified by the higher diurnal temperature variation here. The best expression of the Greco di Tufo vine is found on the volcanic hills of the Avellino province in central Campania, and only eight villages can legally claim to make Greco di Tufo: Tufo, Montefusco, Petruro Irpino, Chianche, Torrioni, Altavilla, Irpina and Prata di Principato Ultra.

The appellation received its DOCG status in 2003. The wines must contain a minimum of 85% Greco di Tufo grapes, and up to 15% of Coda di Volpe Bianca grapes is also permitted, at the discretion of each winemaker. A sparkling Greco di Tufo spumante variant can also be made, and must be aged for at least three years prior to release.

Greco di Tufo wines stand out from the crowd thanks to the unique characteristics of the sulfur- and tufa-rich volcanic and clay soils; it is believed that these lend the wine its perfume and mineral complexity. The refreshing, crisp white wines are known for their aromatic notes of lemons, pears and toasted almonds and a lingering mineral finish. The wines are generally at their best within three years of bottling.