Valdibella 'Sulle Bucce'

Grillo is Sicily's signature white grape, usually fresh and citrus-driven. Valdibella leave this one on skins for a fortnight, which builds texture, gentle tannin and deeper fruit. From an organic cooperative at Camporeale, west of Palermo, committed to native varieties.

Valdibella farms this Grillo around Camporeale, in the hills west of Palermo, at roughly 300 metres. The cooperative farms organically, part of a wider push in the Belice valley to keep native Sicilian grapes farmed the old way.

For this bottling they destem the grapes by hand and let a wild starter carry the ferment. The must sits on its skins under a static cap, with regular pump-overs to draw out colour and grip. That is where the tannin and deeper gold colour come from. It then rests in steel for four to six months, with the lees stirred through to build texture without any oak.

Serve it closer to 12 degrees than fridge-cold, so the skin-contact texture shows. It holds up well against grilled fish or a plate of fresh cheese, and keeps developing through the second glass.