"primitivo" news and stories

For years, no one really knew where Zinfandel came from, so in typically American style, we made it our own. Zin became California's grape like Riesling is the grape of Germany and Pinot Noir is the grape of Burgundy. California Zinfandels are often similar to Americans themselves: loud, brawny, a barbeque lover with bold flavors and plenty of opinion. Zinfandel inspires such passion in the U.S. that it even has its own professional organization, aroma wheel, and annual festival.

Finally scientists did DNA testing on Zinfandel and discovered it came from the same stock as Italian Primitivo and Croatian Crljenak. Now here's where the grape gets interesting. When wine geeks talk about terroir, or the sense of "place" you can taste in a wine, they're referring to everything from the specific minerals and elements in the soil that help flavor the grape to the region's climate to the vineyard's altitude and relative position to the sun. All of these elements add up to taking what would be a generic grape that tastes the same no matter where it's produced (like when you're on the road and all the restaurants look scary, and then you find a Panera and think, well at least I can get a decent sandwich), and making it into something completely distinct.

With Zinfandel and Primitivo, the two, though genetically twins, are more like cousins when you throw terroir into the mix. Zinfandel/Primitivo is a versatile grape, able to make light and fruity wines like Beaujolais and deep, dark, alcoholic, jammy wines, which represents the style of most American Zins.

Continue reading "Wine of the Week: Primitivo" after the jump.

The Feudi di San Marzano Primitivo di Manduria D.O.C. Sessantanni 2003 is 14.5% abv. and is produced from very old, 60-80 years, Primitivo grape vines that are very low yielding. The vines grow in Puglia in the Neviera and Casa Rossa vineyards in the district of San Marzano. Old vines with low yields of fruit tend to mean a wine that has lots of intense and great flavor to it, and this is certainly the case here.

This 100% Primitivo grape wine has an intensely deep ruby color to it and a medium/heavy body. The aroma is full of fruit, and hints of coffee and the barest whiff of sweet aged pipe tobacco. This is a smooth and rich wine, almost like a young and intense port, with a big, mouth filling, forward fruit and berry flavor full of cherries and hints of dried fruit. This is supported by a dense and complex middle with just enough tannic bite to it to balance the huge flavors, and ends in a incredibly rich and silky finish. This wine will go very well with beef, such as my Beef Rib Roast, or with lamb and game.

Usually this bottle sells for around $30 each, and well worth it. Luckily my local store, run by a friend, was having a sale. I loved this big wine so much that I ran back to the store the next day and bought every single case and bottle they had left in stock at the the amazing price of $14 each. If you can find this wine for under $30 in your area it's really worth trying. It comes in a very dark, thick, heavy oversize bottle that looks like it holds a liter but holds the typical 750 ml. The bottle is perfect to hold such a big wine, and will help store it as it ages and improves over the next 6-8 years.