Locally owned and operated Grimaldi’s Pizzeria will be featuring a wine currently only available at the pizzeria. The Grimaldi’s team traveled to Italy in 2015 to create a unique blend of Tuscan red wine. The end result was Mille Gradi, an easy drinking red blend that is light enough to pair with the Kale Chopped Salad or a board of bruschetta, but robust enough to hold up to one of Grimaldi’s famous meat topped pizzas.

“This opportunity was something that Grimaldi’s found to complement the authenticity of our brand,” said Executive Chef Cory Lattuca. “Our pizzas are inspired by the Italian classic, so it felt right that we travel to Italy and have an Italian blend to pair with our menu.”

Mille Gradi was a joint project between Grimaldi’s and the renowned Rocca delle Macie Estate, owned by Sergio Zingarelli, and is a blend of three grape varietals: sangiovese, syrah and merlot. Rocca delle Macìe was established in 1973 and is a family owned winery in the heart of the Chianti Classico zone. Grimaldi’s signature wine Mille Gradi is Italian for “1,000 degrees” which signifies the hot coals that Grimaldi’s uses to cook their pizzas.

“As we created this blend at the Rocca delle Macìe Estate, we wanted to do with wine what we did with pizza. We wanted to take an Italian specialty and put a new world twist on it,” Lattuca said.

Mille Gradi will be available at all Grimaldi’s locations by the glass, carafe or bottle. Lattuca recommends people pair it with “The Brooklyn Bridge” Chef’s Selection pizza, featuring oven roasted red peppers, creamy ricotta cheese and Italian sausage atop a coal-fired pizza.