Modus Bibendi Grillo Natural White Wine from Sicily
WHAT IS A NATURAL WINE?
NATURAL WINES ARE made only with organic/biodynamic grapes, without adding or subtracting anything in the cellar. No additives, no chemicals, no aromas, no selected yeasts, low sulfur, that’s it.
MODUS BIBENDI GRILLO 17 from Grillo grapes
GRAPES VARIETY: Grillo (100%)
SOIL clay calcareous - AGEING 7 months in stainless steel tin
WINEMAKING natural, spontaneous fermentation
VINTAGES AVAILABLE: 2017 (MODUS BIBENDI GRILLO), 2018 (MODUS BIBENDI BIANCO), 2019 (MODUS BIBENDI BIANCO)
fig. 1: in the photo the MODUS BIBENDI BIANCO 2018
Modus Bibendi Grillo is our natural white wine from Sicily, made from 100% Grillo grapes cultivated on clay-calcareous soils.
✦ The IDEA OF THE wine
Grillo is one of Sicily’s most compelling native grape varieties, but also one of the most challenging to grow and interpret. Even its name,Grillo, meaning grasshopper in Italian, reflects its “jumping” nature: ripening can be uneven, and consistency is never guaranteed.
For a long time, Grillo was not truly respected. It was often harvested overripe and destined for blending in Marsala production, or vinified in limited quantities following international trends, shaped to resemble French styles based on Sauvignon Blanc.
Our goal was to give these grapes, and the wine they produce, a clear and honest identity. The result is a medium-bodied wine with vibrant acidity, well balanced by its alcohol content, and defined by an aromatic profile that recalls Mediterranean scrub rather than tropical fruit.
This is our interpretation of Grillo. We believe strongly in its revival, but only when it is allowed to express its true nature, through natural vinification and without imitating foreign models.
✦ The vineyard
The grapes come from our organic vineyards in Sicily, planted on clay-calcareous soils, where Grillo finds both strength and definition.
The Mediterranean climate plays a central role: warm, bright days are tempered by constant air movement, helping the vines maintain freshness and aromatic precision even at full ripeness.
These conditions allow the fruit to develop a clean profile, where sun and balance coexist — a key element in shaping the wine’s character.
✦ In the cellar
In the cellar, our approach remains consistent with our natural philosophy:
spontaneous fermentation
no selected yeasts
gentle handling
ageing in stainless steel for about 7 months
Stainless steel is chosen deliberately, to preserve the grape’s integrity and freshness, keeping the wine precise and direct, without external influence.
Intervention is kept to the minimum necessary to ensure stability, always respecting the wine’s natural evolution.
✦ Tasting
On the nose, Modus Bibendi Grillo opens with citrus notes, hints of white flowers and light Mediterranean nuances.
The palate is fresh, medium-bodied and well balanced, with lively acidity and a subtle saline edge that reflects its Sicilian origin.
The texture is smooth, the progression linear, and the finish clean and persistent.
It is a wine designed to be easy to drink, but not simplistic capable of accompanying food or standing confidently on its own.
✦ A broader vision
Modus Bibendi Grillo represents our idea of natural wine as an everyday expression of place, made with care, respect and transparency.
It is part of a broader collection where each wine has its own voice, yet all share the same philosophy: letting Sicilian native grapes express themselves naturally, without masks.
A wine that speaks quietly, but with conviction.
THE VARIETY: GRILLO
Created by an artificial crossing of Catarratto Bianco and Zibbibo (Moscato di Alessandria) in Agrigento, Sicily in 1869 by Baron Antonio Mendola, an agronomist and expert of grape varieties, Grillo is nowadays one of the most cultivated varieties in Sicily, after the Catarratto.
Grillo is not an aromatic or flavored grapes, but at its best it is full-bodied, earthy almost to the point of astringency, and can be bottle-aged to benefit. It will have a creamy feel, though with good acidity, and a sense of faint and indistinct but broad-spectrum fruit flavors, tending toward the citrus-y. Balsamic notes and nuts if aged “sur lies”.
The biotypes are known simply as “A” and “B”, and are described thus (from Giampiero Nadali):
Biotype A has a compact cluster, high productivity, produces a concentration of musts with low sugar, low pH, high acidity, wines have notes of citrus and vegetables; it corresponds to the modern Grillo wines that we appreciate fresh;
Biotype B has a loose bunch, low productivity, produces musts with a high sugar concentration, high pH, low acidity, wines have great structure, with descriptors notes of spice and tropical fruit; it corresponds to the Grillo that already existed before the arrival of the British in Marsala (1770), a vine that produces 18 degrees alcohol at the harvest “naturally”, that is, without the need for any fortification.
[variety info credits: thatusefulwinesite.com & Robin Kick MV]
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TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE OTHER WINES
MODUS BIBENDI NERO D’AVOLA
MODUS BIBENDI BIANCO MACERATO FROM ZIBIBBO/CATARRATTO/GRILLO
KATAMACERATO FROM CATARRATTO
GLOU GLOU ROSSO FROM
NERELLO MASCALESE