Grifone Primitivo, 2019 (Italy)

"The Millennial Wine"

Price at Purchase: $4.99

Location: Trader Joe's

I decided to start out with a classic, since you really can’t go wrong with a primitivo (hint to us millennials: that’s a zinfandel). Wine critics—aka people who know way more about wine than me-- describe it as a “modern” red wine (like us millennials) that’s also high in alcohol (again, just like us millennials). Before tasting, I got some scents of plum, while my sister said hints of cherry. In the end, we both agreed that there was definitely some red grape in there, so I think we got at least one right.

This is a solid wine that deserves to be added to your list of everyday table wine. Just like your BFF, it will always have your back when you’re scrambling and the Uber is about to roll up. To be honest, this tastes like a $30 bottle (aka expensive AF), so put it in a decanter, toss the bottle, and your friends won’t know the difference.

It’s light and extremely smooth, which went perfect with the chicken tacos I had for dinner. While great on its own, I actually thought that the spice in the tacos complemented the wine ­a lot, and brought out some fantastic flavor the second go-around. Don’t get me wrong, this wine is far from bland—it just soaks up whatever the mood is in the room, without craving the spotlight.

Interestingly, the label claims to have “flavorful vanilla notes” and supposedly has a “long finish”. I 100% disagree with both descriptions—this is a short and to-the-point wine that gets the job done without awkwardly hanging around. Like a guy who claims to be 6’ but is really 5’10”, but you’re ok with it because he changed the batteries on your fire alarm that one time. It’s a keeper.

#grifone #primitivo