Grechetto is a white grape of central Italy, at home in Umbria and northern Lazio. It makes dry, medium-bodied whites with pear, citrus and almond, and is a key part of Orvieto, one of Italy's historic white wines.
The name means "little Greek", and like many Italian grapes with this name it was once believed to have come from Greece, which has never been proven. Two different varieties go by the name: Grechetto di Orvieto, the main type in Umbria, and Grechetto di Todi, which DNA has shown to be the same grape as Pignoletto from Emilia-Romagna. Grechetto has thick skins that resist rot, which also makes it suitable for drying grapes for Vin Santo.
Most Grechetto is fresh and meant to be drunk within two or three years. Wines aged on the lees or partly in wood are fuller and nuttier, and Grechetto adds body to blends: Antinori's well-known Cervaro della Sala, from Castello della Sala near Orvieto, blends it with Chardonnay.
Start with an Orvieto Classico to taste Grechetto in its traditional blend, then a varietal Grechetto from the Colli Martani or Umbria IGT. Producers worth knowing include Barberani, Palazzone, Decugnano dei Barbi, Castello della Sala (Antinori), Lungarotti, Arnaldo Caprai and Roccafiore, and Sergio Mottura in Lazio, a specialist of the grape.
Grechetto shares Umbria with Sagrantino and is blended with Trebbiano in Orvieto. Read our best Umbria wines, the best Lazio wines, or browse the grape varieties index.