RedLead grape in 2
Grignolino
A pale Piedmontese red from the Monferrato that behaves like nothing its colour suggests. Light in the glass, high in acid, and then gripping, with white pepper, cranberry and a bitter finish. It was the wine the Asti aristocracy drank and it has never travelled well commercially because it looks like a rosé and tastes like an argument.
Worth knowing
The tannin comes from the pips. The name is from grignole, the local word for seeds, and the berries carry three or four where most varieties carry two. A pale wine with that much grip is a genuinely odd thing to encounter.
Where it is allowed8 appellations
Piedmont8
- Barbera d'AstiDOCGStill hunting
- Barbera del MonferratoDOCStill hunting
- Barbera del Monferrato SuperioreDOCGStill hunting
- GabianoDOCStill hunting
- Grignolino d'AstiDOClead grapeStill hunting
- Grignolino del Monferrato CasaleseDOClead grapeStill hunting
- Malvasia di Casorzo d'Asti (Casorzo)DOCStill hunting
- Rubino di CantavennaDOCStill hunting