At the beginning of December 2002 I received the DNA analysis of a group of vine varieties that can be included in the Grechetto and Procanico families, both for synonymy and for similarity.

The results scientifically confirmed what we had already sensed after cultivating and vinifying these two varieties for many years: the Grechetto Poggio della costa and the Procanico that we cultivate are different to all other varieties.

Given that these two varieties, as I will explain later on, were taken from an establishment near Orvieto in 1970, I wanted to share the news with the most important viticulturists of this zone.
To my great surprise I discovered I was the oldest, and that these varieties are probably almost extinct.

I was overrun by a frenzy to gather, as rapidly as possible, all the information regarding vine varieties cultivated in this zone. I interviewed the older winegrowers and collaborators who were still able to give me news of any kind regarding this subject. I gathered news and passed it on to who might be interested.

Given the limited time that I can dedicate to this pleasurable undertaking I will continue to update these pages little by little and from time to time: so excuse me if they do not seem to have a complete and sequential structure.

When I began to follow the family estate it was run by sharecroppers, and was divided into 21 holdings. According to this kind of contract, each holding was a small independent farm that produced whatever was necessary for the colonist family's life and for the economy of the property. Grapevines, olives, some minor grains and cereals (oats and barley), broad beans, maize, broccoli, and alfalfa were cultivated. Almost all of these things were aimed at breeding cattle (the Chianina breed), pigs and often sheep, to obtain a little sheep's milk cheese and ricotta.

The vine was trained up maple, following Etruscan tradition. This favoured grazing for the cattle on the pasture below, and reduced grape downy mildew and frost damage by better ventilation. The long shoots were gathered into two or three plaits and curved like a bow. It was also customary to connect the plants together with long shoots in spurred cordon pruning, which was frequently renewed.

The varieties were only those that were typical to the area, selected over many years most certainly for their better resistance to pathogenic agents, and for the quality of the wine that they produced: Procanico, Verdello, Malvasia, Grechetto, Sangiovese, red Aleatico, Svagarella and Viterbese (with large berries and thick skin, they were dried in the oven and used in black puddings).

The estate families were proud to offer good wine during their festive occasions, though these occasions were few (weddings, baptisms, confirmations, and the threshing of the grain).

Grechetto is an early maturing variety and it was, therefore, the first to be harvested. There was a small tank reserved for it in the winery and it was never mixed with other varieties. The vinification was by "the rising of the cap". Once the de-stemmed grapes were transferred to the tank, they formed a floating cap when the marc separated from the must, and so there was a brief maceration on the skins before drawing off.
The must was particularly limpid, both because the Grechetto berry is very easy to press, and because it was the first to enter the winery and no yeasts were around to set off the fermentation precociously. Hence drawing off could be done a little later.

For these reasons, I could appreciate all the richness of this variety, and my love for Grechetto was born.

In the 1960's some estates were abandoned by the sharecroppers, and in 1961 all the first specialized vineyards of Umbria were planted to Sangiovese. The market was demanding red grapes.

In the autumn of 1967 I planted three hectares of vineyard with white vine varieties, and in September of the following year I did "dormant bud" grafting with buds from the best vines in the neighbourhood. The choice was easy because the grapes had not yet been harvested. The selection was made by the cellarman, Domenico Corsi also known as Mecone, who had a vast knowledge of the vineyards of the Civitella and Castiglione area. For these grafts he took shoots from the vines from the estate immediately below the Case Nuove. This estate belonged to the Sensi family, and the sharecropper was Caciolla.

In 1970 I planted fifteen hectares, all with white grapes. Because I didn't have the possibility of directly grafting them, I used vines from the vinery Vivaio Conti di Orvieto: Procanico, Trebbiano, Malvasia and Grechetto. Mr Conti told me that he usually took the shoots from the Velette estate. This Grechetto was used for a hectare of the Poggio della Costa vineyard and the other two were Malvasia and Trebbiano. The Procanico was planted in the six hectares of the Sartei vineyard.

In 1974 I planted the twelve hectares that make up the "Tragugnano" vineyard. In approximately one of these I planted Grechetto supplied by the vinery Vivai Rauscedo: big clusters similar to those of Caciolla.

In 1979 I planted the "Alessandro" vineyard with Trebbiano, Canaiolo Bianco and Grechetto, all supplied by the vinery Vivai Rauscedo: this time they gave me Grechetto grappolo piccolo.

The Trebbiano was split and newly grafted with Grechetto from the neighbouring Poggio della costa vineyard.

In 1989 I planted four and a half hectares of the "Mecone" vineyard, two of which with Grechetto, supplied once more by the vinery Vivai Rauscedo: this time I received a mixed composition of various vines: Grechetto, Verdello and Trebbiano. This was the last time I bought from the vinery Vivai Rauscedo.

To summarize, the following kinds of Grechetto have been available since 1992: Caciolla planted at "Umbrico", Vivai Conti planted at "Poggio della costa", Vivai Rauscedo grappolo grande (large cluster) planted at "Tragugnano", Vivai Rauscedo grappolo piccolo (small cluster) planted at "Alessandro", and a Rauscedo mixture planted at "Mecone".

The quantity of grapes that were produced from a single plot of land were always enough to produce at least a tank of wine. Hence it was easy to follow all the various characteristics of the wines produced from one harvest to the next.

The differences were soon evident: all wines were distinctly superior to other kinds, but the intense aroma of the "Poggio della Costa" wine was unmistakable and could not be found in wines produced with the other Grechettos.

But there was still a doubt that this difference might be caused by the soil or by the vine's age or by the kind of pruning or by the vineyard's exposure.

In 1992 I decided to plant about 400 vines of various kinds of Grechettos, separately, though still in the same plot. I added a further Grechetto called "Perazzeta", which I had got from the vineyard belonging to Giuseppe Proietti (also known as Peppe Segalluscio), former sharecropper of our "Perazzeta" holding, who, at that time, was employed prevalently for grafting. He says he used the buds from the row of vines of the farm where he ran the sharecropping, planted in about 1930: it had always produced good wine!

I planted the first hectare of Grechetto at "Colle" in 1992. The shoots were selected from the Poggio della costa vines and I supplied them to the vinery Vivai Guillaume. As a rootstock I used the 420A at a sixth of 2,5 x 0,8 corresponding to 5000 plants per hectare; guyot trained.

It will continue