Greco di Tufo Wines

The Greco di Tufo is a white wine which represents the excellence in Campania and Avellino concerning the wine and enology tradition of the territory which is internationally well-known because of its prestigious quality. The white wine Greco di Tufo that you can find on our online wine shop Uritalianwines, is produced in a very little portion of land in the Avellino territory which borders on the south with the Benevento province and it intends 8 towns which develop around the Tufo town. Then there is the Irpino town characterized by a great viticulture history in fact the local railway is called the “Wine railway” to underline this territory vocation.

There are many wines from Campania approved as excellent wines which are produced in this particular land where there is a special synergy between the ground and the weather. We can quote the well-known Taurasi in the typologies DOCG Rosso and Riserva, the Fiano di Avellino and the Greco di Tufo DOCG Bianco and Spumante.

For what concerns the Greco di Tufo Bianco DOCG, as described in the technical policies of production it is essential during the cultivation of the Greco Bianco vines using some hill territories the most exposed to the direct light of the sun especially during the summer season. For this reason those vines cultivated at the feet of the Valley where there is more humidity and the light of the sun is not direct, those grapes are not used for the DOCG wines.  

The excellent quality of this wine from Campania is deductible also to the fact that, as described in the technical policies of production, it is not admit any forcing in the cultivation to increase the natural productivity of the vines. The same restriction there is for the wine making process that has to be done in the original site by following the traditional methods. The Bianco Greco di Tufo DOCG wine territory is contained in the administrative boundaries of Tufo,  Altavilla Irpina,  Chianche, Montefusco, Prata di Principato Ultra, Petruro Irpino, Santa Paolina and Torrioni towns.

The landscape is composed by hills alternate with medium high Apennine mountains. This land is on the middle occidental side of Italy and there are only few rivers that in the winter season increase their power compared to the summer season. The hills where the Greco di Tufo is produced is mostly clay and sandy with lots of potassium and mineral salts dissolved that allow to overcome is the large period of dryness.

The Greco vine from which is produced the Greco di Tufo DOCG have Greek origins that it is though has arrived in Campania when in the VIII century a.C.n. the Greek population was obliged to migrate for a big Agricultural crisis and they settled in the Irpinia territories and they moved here their cultivation and traditions.

The local production of this wine increase when the Venetian travelers, mariners and merchants brought these products everywhere in the Mediterranean and so they really opened this market.

From this original vine were produced two different varieties of good quality but lower than the original because cultivated in grounds that do not have the organoleptic quality characteristics. These two are the Greco cultivated in all the Calabria territory and the Greco Bianca always cultivated in Calabria in the extreme south, oriented to the Mediterranean as for the towns of Bianco, Gioiosa and other towns in the Ionica coast.

Specifically the Greco vine has a white grape cultivated in other regions than Campania, by the way in Campania there is the best quality. Is possible to find other vines in Lazio almost in the south, south-east, in Molise especially in the lands oriented to the Adriatic sea, in Tuscany in  the north, then in Puglia all along the territory and in Basilicata almost in the north where the hill are more adaptable to this cultivation.

The varietal characteristics of the Greco vine has a little and a pentagonal, very precise leaf. The bunch is big and extended with an overturned pyramid due to the marked wing and it is compact and rich of grapes. 

The grapes are medium little large with an ellipsoidal shape with a green color. The peel is very bloomy with a green color tending to a yellow especially after a long sun exposition which is indispensable to the develop of intrinsic properties of the pulp. The wine produced with this vine have a straw yellow color more or less intense depending on the grapes maturation. The scent is pleasant, intense and persistent, fine and characteristic. The taste is dry, very fresh and characterized by a good balance between taste and alcoholic degree.

The grapes used for the Greco di Tufo DOCG production are the Greco used 100% as single variety. There are some other wine typologies that do not have the national certification, which admit a minimum percentage of Greco grape, 85% and at maximum a 15% of Coda di Volpe Bianca which gives not very rich grapes at an early maturation.

If used as single variety the wine produced has a clear gold color, almost straw, characterized by a strong acidity, medium strong with spicy and salty tastes on the palate. The technical policies of production obliged the handmade grape harvest with a careful selection of the Grego grapes which belong to a late maturation around the second half of October. The most prestigious vines for the production of the Greco di Tufo DOCG are the ones which are 15, max 25 years old and that are cultivated by following the “Guvot” method that prefers that during the winter pruning the buds keep staying on the branches, at least one year old.

The Greco vine is used also for other wines but in lower percentages. We find it in a wine from Puglia such as: Gravina DOC, from molise, Molise DOC, in Lazio with the Cori DOC, the Marino DOC, the Vignanello DOC, the Frascati DOC and the Roma DOC. In Basilicata with the Matera DOC and in Tuscany with the Bianco di Pitigliano DOC. In Campania the vine is used also in the Capri DOC, in the Irpino DOC, in the Sannio DOC, in the Vesuvio DOC, the Penisola Sorrentina DOC and in the Cilento DOC. Some IGT wines  which use a relevant percentage of the Greco, are: in Puglia the Salento IGT, the Puglia IGT, the Tarantino IGT, Valle d'Itria IGT, the Murgia IGT and the Daunia IGT. For the Basilicata there is the Basilicata IGT and for  Lazio there are the Colli Cimini IGT and the Lazio IGT. Once again the Campania is the region where this vine is mostly used for the production of: Pompeiano IGT, Paestum IGT, Epomeo IGT, Dugenta IGT, Colli di Salerno IGT, Campania IGT, Beneventano IGT.

Come and visit our online wine shop, is super easy! They are cataloged for typologies and regions. By surfing online you will find many quality labels of all around Italy and you will find the Greco di Tufo 100% made with Greco grapes.

The Greco di Tufo DOCG wine making takes place in steel barrels after a careful crash destemming under temperature control 4°C which lasts at maximum 24 hours. The racking off occurs with a pneumatic press to guarantee the clearing of the must. The fermentation is under temperature control at 10°C maximum 12°C and it lasts 18 days which could be at maximum 24. The maturation is resting on yeasts for around 3 months in stainless steel barrels.

It has a straw yellow color almost gold due to its green herbs reflections. The scent has a clear and decide  mineral and salt flavor taken by the cultivation ground where the grapes mature. The taste is rich and fresh, sapid and persistent thanks to its great minerals  which contributes to the persistence on the palate.  The alcoholic degree is about 13% and it has to be served between the 10° C and the 12°C in tapered, high and thin glasses with a taking in on the top as for example the “Renano” adaptable to serve white fresh and structured wine.

The white wine Greco di Tufo DOCG is a dry wine very prestigious, floral and structured which can be matched with fish starters with both raw than cooked crustaceous, salmon or the fume green fish very delicate, few dressed and spicy.

It is good also with vegetables or legumes soups, and especially with fresh cheeses.  

It is harmonic also with grilled fish such as salted codfish, lobsters and prawns but also with cuttlefish and octopus. It is perfect also with oysters and other sea fruits especially raw or fume.