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Maurizio Ferraro

#SoloVino Grignolino 2020

Price: $29.95
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Tasting notes

This is Grignolino doing exactly what the grape does best: pale ruby, barely-there color, yet the tannins are firm and the acidity cuts clean, with wild strawberry, cranberry, and a snap of white pepper. At 12% ABV from a 55-year-old east-facing cru in Montemagno, it is the kind of wine that makes you rethink what a red wine needs to be.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Wild StrawberryCranberryWhite PepperRose
  • Style: Light-bodied, high-acid red; pale ruby; wild strawberry, cranberry, white pepper; 12% ABV; zero added sulfites
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Grignolino; Chiovende cru, Montemagno; east-facing; 55+ year old vines; sandy limestone-clay soils; organic farming
  • Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts; stainless steel; no fining, no filtration; zero added sulfites; S.A.I.N.S. member
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; light chill recommended; no decant needed
  • Pairing: Charcuterie, vitello tonnato, rabbit, pasta with pesto, turbot, aged cheeses
  • Similar To: For fans of Gamay, Trousseau, or Poulsard who want a Piedmontese take on lean, tannic, high-acid reds

Maurizio Ferraro's #SoloVino Grignolino is a 100% Grignolino from the Chiovende cru outside Montemagno, in the Monferrato hills of Piedmont. The vineyard — planted by Maurizio's grandfather Pietro in 1964 — faces east, and sits on the sandy, limestone-structured soils typical of the area. The vines are over 55 years old.

Farming is organic with no synthetic chemicals or irrigation. Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts, no temperature control, and no additives of any kind. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, and bottled with zero added sulfites. Maurizio has held to this protocol since 2006 and is a member of S.A.I.N.S., the French organization for producers who use no additives whatsoever.

Grignolino is an ancient Piedmontese variety whose name comes from the local dialect word for grape seeds — the grape carries more pips than most varieties, contributing firm, distinctive tannins despite the wine's light color and relatively lean body. It is one of the most site-specific and difficult grapes to vinify in Piedmont, prone to irregular ripening and challenging to handle in the cellar.

In the glass this shows the hallmarks of the variety: a pale ruby bordering on translucent, bright acidity, and tannins that punch above the color's weight. Aromas run toward wild strawberry, cranberry, rose petal, and white pepper, with a characteristic bitter almond finish. Serve slightly cool, around 58-62F.

Grignolino's high acidity and firm tannins make it a natural match for fatty or rich Piedmontese dishes. Try it with vitello tonnato, rabbit, charcuterie boards, or a simple pasta with pesto. It also works well slightly chilled alongside fatty fish like turbot or salmon.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Grignolino
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2020
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Piedmont
Appellation:, Monferrato DOC
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

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If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Maurizio Ferraro

The Ferraro family's connection to viticulture in Montemagno dates to 1819, when an ancestor traded a donkey for a small vineyard. The estate today covers 7.5 hectares of hillside plots surrounding Montemagno, each named for its sun exposure and character. The Chiovende cru — named 'Facing the Morning Sun' — is where Maurizio's grandfather Pietro planted Grignolino in 1964. A separate Robbiano cru was later planted with both Grignolino and Barbera by Maurizio and his father Sergio in the 1990s.

Maurizio trained at the Alba Oenological Institute and took over the estate from his father in the late 1990s. He began converting to organic farming around 2000 and made a full commitment to natural winemaking in 2006. Since then, no synthetic chemicals have been used in the vineyard, and no additives — including sulfites — are used at any stage of production. He is a member of S.A.I.N.S., the French organization that groups producers who add nothing to their wines.

In the cellar, all fermentations are spontaneous using indigenous yeasts from the grapes and the cellar environment. There is no temperature control. Wines are macerated on the skins and receive no fining or filtration before bottling. The #SoloVino Grignolino is fermented and aged in stainless steel, then bottled without any added sulfites. Each vintage differs in character, reflecting the growing season rather than a fixed house style.

Wine region

Piedmont, Italy

Piedmont sits in the far northwest of Italy, bordered on three sides by the Alps and to the south by the Apennines. The region has a continental climate with cold winters, warm summers, and significant diurnal temperature swings that preserve grape acidity. Vineyards are planted predominantly on hillsides at elevations of 150 to 600 meters above sea level. Piedmont holds more DOCG designations than any other Italian region, with 19 DOCGs and 41 DOCs covering a wide range of indigenous varieties.

Monferrato is the largest wine-producing zone in Piedmont, spanning the provinces of Asti and Alessandria on the right bank of the Po River. Its soils are of ancient marine origin — predominantly sandy and calcareous, with clay and limestone layers — well-drained and low in nutrients, conditions that suit Grignolino particularly well. The Monferrato DOC received its classification in 1994, and the area is also home to Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese DOC and Grignolino d'Asti DOC, the two main varietal appellations for the grape. Montemagno, where Maurizio Ferraro farms, sits within the Basso Monferrato (Lower Monferrato) subzone in the province of Asti.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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