Grignolino is a red grape of Piedmont, grown mainly in the Monferrato hills around Asti and Casale Monferrato. It makes pale, light-bodied reds with red berries, white pepper and fresh acidity, with a firmer grip than their colour suggests.
The name is usually linked to grignòle, the word for grape pips in the Asti dialect, because the berries have many seeds. These seeds give the wine its tannin and its slightly bitter finish. Grignolino is an old variety, and was once more widely planted and well regarded in Piedmont. It is not easy to grow: it ripens unevenly and is sensitive to disease, and many growers replaced it with Barbera. Today a group of Monferrato producers keep it alive as a local, food-friendly red.
The best sites have light, calcareous soils that keep the wine fragrant and fresh.
Grignolino is best young and served slightly cool. A few producers make longer-aged versions that gain spice and depth, but most bottles are meant to be drunk within three years.
Start with a Grignolino d'Asti or a Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese from a recent vintage. Producers worth knowing include Montalbera, Luigi Spertino, Gaudio, Braida, Marchesi Alfieri, Laiolo Reginin, Tenuta Migliavacca and Oreste Buzio.
Grignolino grows next to Barbera, Freisa and Ruchè in the Monferrato, and is lighter than Dolcetto. Read our best Piedmont wines, the best light Italian red wines for summer, or browse the grape varieties index.