There’s a grape variety in Camporeale that never says the same thing twice.
Grillo was born in Sicily with an ancient reputation — it’s the grape of Marsala, cultivated for centuries to withstand oxidation and time. But in Camporeale, on the clay and sandy soils that climb up to 600 meters, Grillo shows another face: saline elegance, tension, a freshness that never seems to tire. Simply different!!
From this grape come two Valdibella wines. Same grapes, same land, the same spontaneous fermentation with the yeasts that have always lived in our cellars. And yet they’re two wines that barely resemble each other. The difference is entirely in how we listen to them, in how, in the cellar, we choose to let them speak.
Ariddu — The Level Voice
Ariddu is a Grillo that says things directly.
It’s born from the work of all the cooperative’s members and is part of the Partecipativa line, the entry point of our range. But “entry point” doesn’t mean a lesser wine: it means a collective wine, the result of many hands working the same calling.
In the cellar, no maceration: static pressing of whole grapes, must in steel, spontaneous fermentation at 15-16 degrees. Then four to six months on its own lees, with batonnage. Nothing else.
The result is a straw yellow with golden highlights, subtle aromas of herbs and citrus. A generous, elegant wine, well balanced, with a long finish. This is Grillo presenting itself without filters: fresh, savory, immediate.
Sulle Bucce — The Voice That Resists
Sulle Bucce is Ninfa’s twin: same method, same philosophy of extended maceration, but applied to Grillo instead of Catarratto. Two parallel wines, the same language on different grape varieties.
Here the cellar makes the opposite choice from Ariddu: no crushing, fermentation with the cap held down for 24-48 hours, then pump-overs. And then the part that changes everything: fourteen, sixteen days of skin maceration, before pressing. Aging again for four to six months on the lees, in steel, with batonnage.
The color becomes a deep yellow with gold highlights. The nose opens onto flowers, citrus, aromatic herbs. On the palate it’s full, properly tannic, warm: a Grillo that has learned to resist, with a clean minerality and a long, complex finish. This is the Speciali line, limited releases: the Grillo that’s no longer afraid of its own skins.
Same Grapes, Two Destinations
Ariddu and Sulle Bucce aren’t variations on the same wine. They’re two different answers to the same question: what happens if you let Grillo, not the cellar, decide how it should turn out.
No corrections, no selected yeasts, no shortcuts. Just time, grapes from Camporeale, and the patience to wait for each wine to find its own voice.
Two bottles, one grape. Try them side by side, and you won’t believe they came from the same vineyard.
Valdibella — Organic farming cooperative, Camporeale (PA)
