Primitivo

The Primitivo red wine is the first grape variety to be harvested, hence the name Primitivo. Primo - First.

Primitivo is different, it is Italian life with a dry demeanor.

At VINELLO, you will find Primitivo from all regions: Primitivo di Manduria, Primitivo Puglia, Salento, Brindisi, and more. We have dedicated a special category to the popular Doppio Passo Primitivo.

In addition to Primitivo red wine, we also offer Primitivo rosé wine and organic Primitivo as well as packages.

The best and most popular Primitivo - our VINELLO Top 12

1. Doppio Passo Rosato Puglia IGT - CVCB
2. MEA CULPA Vino Rosso Italia - Cantine Minini
3. Doppio Rosso Primitivo Merlot - Grande Vitae
4. TANK No 32 Primitivo Appassimento - Cantine Minini
5. Primitivo di Manduria DOC - Conte di Campiano
6. 12 e Mezzo Primitivo del Salento IGP - Varvaglione
7. Papale Linea Oro Primitivo di Manduria DOP - Varvaglione
8. Mandus Primitivo di Manduria DOC - Pietra Pura
9. Papale Primitivo di Manduria DOP - Varvaglione
10. Zolla Primitivo di Manduria DOP - Vigneti del Salento
11. Primitivo di Manduria Riserva DOC - Conte di Campiano
12. Sessantanni Primitivo di Manduria DOC - Cantine San Marzano

What is a Primitivo?

Primitivo is a red grape variety mainly grown in Italy and originally comes from Croatia.

Fruits of the South - full Primitivo wine flavor

The deep red of Primitivo is filled with a wealth of robust wild fruits, plums, and cherries. In its velvety body, the nose discovers notes of tobacco, cloves, chocolate, cinnamon, leather, and cedarwood. Depending on the region, Primitivo wines are produced differently. In Salento, they mainly produce off-dry wines, while in Manduria, they produce dry reds.

However, Primitivo is most commonly found as a dry red wine with relatively high sugar content. The full Vino Primitivo has 13–15 % alcohol. Together with its soft body, this makes it a true delight for the palate.

Primitivo di Manduria DOC

Among the Primitivo wines from Italy, the red wines from Apulia hold a special position.

More specifically, these are the Primitivo wines produced around the city of Manduria. Benefited by the mineral and stony clay soil, the Primitivo di Manduria vines grow extremely robustly and magnificently. This is also helped by the sunny and warm climate,

resulting in early-ripening grapes with high sugar content, producing abundant and fruity red wines.

These wines are well received. Then as now! So the winemakers from the north of Salento vinify the Primitivo di Manduria under the DOC status.

In order for the wine to bear the title Primitivo di Manduria, certain rules must be adhered to. These were defined by the Consorzio di Tutela del Primitivo di Manduria around 1974.

These include, among others, permitted grape varieties, aging duration, and maximum yields.

Rules for producing a Primitivo di Manduria red wine

The catalog consists of 8 articles. Upon fulfillment, the red wine may adorn itself with the DOC status Primitivo di Manduria.

• Art. 1 describes that the protected designation of origin Primitivo di Manduria only applies to wines that meet the following conditions
• Art. 2 deals with the permissible grape varieties. At least 85 % of the grapes must be Primitivo grapes. Only non-aromatic black grape varieties are allowed for the remaining 15 %. These are permitted in the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi. They can be added separately or together.
• Art. 3 names the areas that are allowed for the production of Primitivo di Manduria. The area mainly extends in the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto, at the heel of Italy.
• Art. 4 deals with the cultivation, harvest, and maximum yield (9 t/ha) of the permitted grape varieties. It is also stipulated that the grapes for Primitivo di Manduria must have a minimum alcohol content of 13.00 % vol. For a Riserva, it is 13.50 % vol.
• Art. 5 refers to the work in the cellar as well as aging and marketing. The addition of must and wine is prohibited. The earliest sale of a Primitivo di Manduria DOC may take place from March 31 after the harvest. For the Riserva, it is even 2 years after the harvest. Thus, the necessary aging of 24 months, with 9 months in wooden barrels, is respected.
• Art. 6 summarizes the characteristics of the Primitivo di Manduria red wine.

• Art. 7 requires that any wine fulfilling the above articles declares the year of production on the bottle.
• Art. 8 clarifies the container for the wine. Only glass bottles with a volume of up to 15 liters are approved for consumption. These are sealed only with a cork. Only bottles of size 0.25 liters may have a screw cap.

Primitivo - known from here to the New World

Unfazed by the sunny and southern climate, the Primitivo thrives robustly on the hills of Apulia. The barren and dry soil around the Italian city of Manduria is particularly suited for the grape variety. The growing cultivation of the variety in recent decades is due to the great success of Zinfandel in America. Especially during Prohibition, the red wine made from Primitivo was a popular smuggled good.

For a long time, Primitivo wine languished in southern Italy as a table grape or blended wine in cuvées. Following the success of the grape variety in the USA, significant interest in its Italian counterpart also emerged. Today, both in Italy and in the USA, high-quality red wines are produced from the Primitivo grape. However, the variety originally does not come from either of the two countries. Primitivo, or Crljenak Kaštelanski, is native to the Croatian/Hungarian border region of Crljenak. Although another branch of origin is likely, it is not proven.

The true origin of the Primitivo grape variety

Primitivo, Zinfandel, Crljenak Kaštelanski, Telanski - in all cases, they refer to Tribidrag. This ancient variety from Croatia has always caused quite a stir.

Whether as Zinfandel in California, as Primitivo in Puglia, or in the hands of many botanists, scientists, and politicians.

Dive into the eventful history of a grape variety that everyone wants a piece of. It begins in Italy, in Puglia, in a small garden of a hobby botanist.

A walk through the history of Primitivo

It was 1799 when Francesco Filippo Indellicati, a priest of the Gioia del Colle community, strolled through the local vineyard. As a leisure botanist and agricultural scientist, Francesco noticed the early-ripening vines that stood out distinctly. He documented his discovery in the city archive under the name Primativo, meaning the first to ripen. The grape variety quickly spread among local winemakers in Apulia. By around 1860, the name Primitivo had established itself. Since then, Primitivo has developed into one of the most important red grape varieties in Italy.

Primitivo in the USA

Once traveled halfway around the globe, Zinfandel is discovered in California. It is strikingly similar to Primitivo. American winemakers believed this grape variety was native to the USA, despite the fact that the vine vitis vinifera is not indigenous to the New World.

Others suspected that an immigrant from Hungary had brought over 300 grape varieties to America, supposedly including Primitivo from Italy. Evidence was only provided by historian Charles Sullivan. The variety came from the Schönbrunn wine collection.

Primitivo and Zinfandel - almost identical?

Zinfandel in California and Primitivo from Apulia delighted people with wine. In between, a botanically interested gentleman once again strolled through the vineyards of Puglia in 1967. He brought movement into the history of both grape varieties. His name was Austin Goheen, a plant pathologist on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture Research Service.

At first glance, the local Primitivo vines seemed very familiar to him. Shortly, he sent a cutting of the Primitivo to the University of California. After some time and research, Goheen recognized a strong similarity in morphology. Furthermore, the aspiring PhD candidate Wade Wolf examined the molecular profiles of both vines. He found that the profiles were identical.

The battle for the grape variety

Research ultimately concluded that Primitivo and Zinfandel are identical. Thus, Italian winemakers began marketing their wine in the USA as Zinfandel as well. This did not sit well with American winemakers. In 1985, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ruled that Zinfandel could not serve as a synonym for Primitivo due to insufficient evidence.

That changed in 1994 when DNA analyses cleared all doubts - Primitivo and Zinfandel were now considered identical.

The search for the true origin

For a long time, a Croatian origin of the Primitivo was suspected. Zaragese, derived from Zagreb, had always been known as a synonym for the grape variety.

The variety Plavac Mali, grown in Dalmatia, was considered a strong candidate. However, this was dismissed after an analysis of the isozymes. Nonetheless, not before Croatian winemakers jumped onto the success wave of the grape variety. They began selling Croatian wine under the name Zinfandel. This marked the beginning of the second chapter in the battle for Zinfandel.

Numerous samples of old Plavac Mali vines were examined, none provided an identical DNA profile. But then the breakthrough. A vine of the Crljenak Kaštelanski variety from Kaštel Novi in the north of Split unveiled the complete DNA profile of Zinfandel. This connection was further confirmed by another vine named Tribidrag.

Tribidrag

The oldest mention of the grape variety we mostly know today as Primitivo was under the name Tribidrag. This indigenous variety in Croatia has been known by this name since the early 15th century. Remarkable is the origin of this designation, as the Croatian word tribidraga is of Greek origin. It can be roughly translated as "early ripening." Thus, a bridge is formed between the origin in Dalmatia and the clergyman from Gioia del Colle.

Today, Tribidrag can be found almost everywhere in the world. The main cultivation areas remain California and Apulia. And even though Primitivo is often considered an exotic, the grape variety consistently finds its place.

Vines are present in France, Israel, Croatia, Australia, and even in Canada and Mexico. Who could be surprised? Tribidrag, Primitivo, Zinfandel or whatever the grape variety is called, provide full fruit and pleasure in the glasses.

Buy Primitivo wines online at VINELLO

Order a strong piece of Italy. Our wide selection of Primitivo wines will delight you. Also try a Zinfandel from sunny California, USA. Because sunshine makes flavor and flavor brings fun.

All that and much more is hidden in the ruby red interplay of colors of Primitivo. Affordably priced, easy to order.

Simply browse online and have it quickly delivered to your home. Shipping to Germany or around the world. Enjoy the comfort of a vacation in Apulia - at VINELLO, your supplier of enjoyment in red wine form. Or rosé wine.