Primitvo Vino (411)

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

Primitivo is different, it represents Italian life with a dry temperament.

At VINELLO, you will find Primitivo from all regions: Primitivo di Manduria, Primitivo Puglia, Salento, Brindisi, and more. The popular Doppio Passo Primitivo has its own category.

In addition to Primitivo red wine, we also carry 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 predominantly grown in Italy and originally from Croatia.

Fruits of the South - full Primitivo wine flavor

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

Most commonly, Primitivo is found as a dry red wine with relatively high sugar content. The full Vino Primitivo contains 13–15 % alcohol. Together with the soft body, this ensures a palate pleaser par excellence.

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 that are produced around the city of Manduria. Favored by the mineral and stony clay soil, the Primitivo di Manduria vines grow extremely robust and magnificent. This is also ensured by the sunny and warm climate,

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

These wines are well received, both then and now! Thus, the winemakers from the north of Salento produce the Primitivo di Manduria under the DOC status.

In order for the wine to carry 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, allowed grape varieties, aging duration, and maximum yields.

Rules for producing a Primitivo di Manduria red wine

The catalog includes 8 articles. After fulfilling these, the red wine may adorn itself with the DOC status of Primitivo di Manduria.

• Art. 1 states 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. For the remaining 15%, only non-aromatic black grape varieties from the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi are allowed. These may be added individually or in combination.
• Art. 3 names the areas where the production of Primitivo di Manduria is permitted. The area mainly extends across 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 allowed 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 31st after the harvest. For the Riserva, it is even 2 years after the harvest. Thus, the necessary aging of 24 months, of which 9 months in wooden barrels, is adhered to.
• Art. 6 summarizes the characteristics of Primitivo di Manduria red wine.

• Art. 7 states that every wine fulfilling the above articles must declare the year of production on the bottle.
• Art. 8 addresses the container of the wine. Only glass bottles with a volume of up to 15 liters are approved for consumption. These may only be sealed with a cork. Only for 0.25-liter bottles is a screw cap allowed.

Primitivo - known from here to the New World

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

For a long time, Primitivo wine existed in southern Italy as a table grape or blended wine in cuvées. The success of the grape variety in the USA also sparked great interest in its Italian counterpart. Today, both Italy and the USA produce high-quality red wines from the Primitivo grape. However, the grape variety originally comes from neither of the two countries. Primitivo, or also Crljenak Kaštelanski, is native to the Croatian/Hungarian border area of Crljenak. Although it's likely that another branch of origin exists, it hasn't been proven.

The true origin of the Primitivo grape variety

Primitivo, Zinfandel, Crljenak Kaštelanski, Telanski - in all cases, they refer to Tribidrag. This old variety from Croatia has always attracted much attention.

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

Immerse yourself in the tumultuous 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 in 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 recorded his discovery in the city archive under the name Primativo, meaning “first to ripen.” The grape variety quickly spread among local winemakers in Apulia until the name Primitivo was established around 1860. Since then, Primitivo has developed into one of the most important red grape varieties in Italy.

Primitivo in the USA

Having traveled halfway around the globe, Zinfandel has been discovered in California. This is strikingly similar to Primitivo. American winemakers were convinced that this grape variety was native to the USA, despite the fact that the Vitis vinifera grape is not native to the New World.

Others speculated that an immigrant from Hungary had brought over 300 grape varieties to America, allegedly including Primitivo from Italy. It was the historian Charles Sullivan who could provide the evidence that the variety came from the Schönbrunn wine collection.

Primitivo and Zinfandel - strikingly similar?

Zinfandel in California and Primitivo from Apulia both delighted people with their wine. In the meantime, in 1967, a botanically interested gentleman once again strolled through the vineyards of Puglia. He brought movement to the history of both grape varieties. It was Austin Goheen, a plant pathologist commissioned by the United States Department of Agriculture Research Service.

At first glance, the local Primitivo vines looked very familiar to him. He quickly sent a cutting of the Primitivo to the University of California. After some time and research, Goheen recognized a strong similarity in morphology. Furthermore, aspiring doctoral student Wade Wolf examined the molecular profiles of both vines, discovering that the profiles were identical.

The battle for the grape variety

Research ultimately concluded that Primitivo and Zinfandel are identical. As a result, 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 decided that Zinfandel could not serve as a synonym for Primitivo due to weak evidence.

That changed in 1994 when DNA analyses cleared all doubts - Primitivo and Zinfandel were henceforth regarded as identical.

The search for the true origin

For a long time, a Croatian origin of Primitivo was suspected, as 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 rejected after an analysis of isozymes. Not before Croatian winemakers jumped on the success wave of the variety, selling Croatian wine under the name Zinfandel. Thus began the second chapter of the battle for Zinfandel.

Numerous samples of old Plavac Mali vines were examined, but none provided an identical DNA profile. Then came the breakthrough. A vine of the variety Crljenak Kaštelanski from Kaštel Novi in northern Split uncovered the DNA profile of Zinfandel entirely. The connection was confirmed by another vine known as Tribidrag.

Tribidrag

The earliest mention of the grape variety that we mostly know as Primitivo was under the designation Tribidrag. This indigenous variety from Croatia has been known by this name since the early 15th century. Notably, the origin of this term is noteworthy, as the Croatian word tribidraga derives from Greek. It can be translated to mean "early ripening." This builds the bridge between the origin in Dalmatia and the priest from Gioia del Colle.

Today, Tribidrag can be found almost all over the world. Main cultivation areas remain California and Apulia. And even though Primitivo is often regarded as an exotic grape, it continues to find its place.

Thus, vines can be found in France, Israel, Croatia, Australia, and even in Canada and Mexico. Why? Because Tribidrag, Primitivo, Zinfandel or however one might call the grape variety, brings full fruit and enjoyment into 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 enhances flavor, and flavor brings joy.

All of this and much more is concealed in the ruby-red play of colors of Primitivo. Available at an affordable price, easy to order.

Quickly browse online and have it delivered straight to your home. Shipping to Germany or worldwide. Enjoy the comfort of a vacation in Apulia - with VINELLO, your supplier of enjoyment in red wine form. Or rosé wine.