Grillo IGT Terre Siciliane Bianco "Integer"

100% Grillo. From organically farmed estate vines in the contrada of Samperi in Marsala. The vines are 30 years old, grow on sandy, limestone-rich loam and are harvested by hand. The selection of bunches is quite strict. It is made just like the Zibbibo "Integer" from De Bartoli's Pantelleria estate.The bunches are destemmed. A small portion of the berries is gently pressed and goes into old oak barrels for a spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no sulfur and no temperature control and a 10-day maceration. That small segment of wine is aged for a year of barrel. But the main part of destemmed berries goes into clay amphorae. Here, the maceration is several months; the wine is racked off of the skins and continues aging in amphorae. The two wines are blended, bottled unfined and unfiltered and classified as IGT Terre Siciliane. There is no sulfur added at any point.
"Integer" means "whole" and is the root word of "integrity"--the Integer bottlings are so named to represent the De Bartolis' intention to express the fullest, most pure potential of native Sicilian white varieties vinified in the most traditional, low-tech way.