Grignolino is a red wine variant that goes well with salmon and luncheon salads. It also pairs with light foods like rice, pasta or fish. Grignolino is a lesser-known wine that comes from temperamental grapes that grow in sunny hillsides in dry, sandy soils. If you're a wine aficionado who loves tasting more obscure wines, grignolino should be on your list. It's medium-bodied and distinctly spicy. The grapes prefer well-drained soil and sunny exposures. This is important to balance the natural tannins to get a gracefully structured wine. Grignolino is an everyday wine, and people enjoy it chilled in the summer.

Grignolino vines grow in Piedmont and are a unique variety. Each berry has four to seven seeds while most other grape berries have two. This means there are higher chances that some seeds will be crushed. This grape variety has bitter seeds, so winemakers need to press the grapes gently so the seeds don't break. However, some seeds do break in the process, which gives an astringent flavor to the wine. The berries have a delicate color — pink with rich tannins. They are thin-skinned and have a low yield. This hard-to-grow grape matures unevenly, which means it's a high-maintenance variety.

Grignolino is among the lightest red wines. It ages well, and its fruity notes don't fade away easily — even after aging for 10 years. The wine has high acidity and pungent floral notes. It ages in oak barrels that don't have much impact on the wine. These resistant fruity notes mean you can try a young or old grignolino red wine and enjoy it.

Find out if Drizly is now in your city. Click to find your nearest liquor store on Drizly.