Given Italy's proximity and Germans' fondness for Italian wine, this early-ripening red variety, which thrives on shallower soils and is somewhat susceptible to grey mould, is best known to us as Primitivo . Genetically, Primitivo is not quite, but almost, identical to Zinfandel, widely grown in California, and the Croatian Tribidrag (also Crljenak Kaštelanski), so they should be regarded as one grape variety. Under ampelographic rules, a variety is named after its oldest recorded name, which is why this vine, originally from Croatia, is listed as Tribidrag in the grape bible ‘Wine Grapes’.
The best-known Italian growing area for Primitivo is Manduria in Apulia. The earliest mention of Primitivo there dates from 1799, by the priest and amateur botanist Francesco Filippo Indellicati. He happened upon the rare, very early-ripening vine in his vineyard. He coined the name ‘Primativo’ or ‘Primaticcio’ from the Latin ‘primativus’, meaning ‘first to ripen’.
According to one account, the Zinfandel grape was imported into the USA around 1825 by Long Island nursery owner George Gibbs. The name Zinfandel dates from this period. It is thought that the designation ‘Zierfandler’ was mistakenly assigned to a package of Crljenak Kaštelanski in shipments from Austria. The search for the origins of the popular red grape began in America in the 1960s. On a trip to Italy, Austin Goheen noticed ‘Primitivo’ and took it back to California for comparison. It was only between 1999 and 2001, however, that Carole Meredith, professor of oenology at the university in Davis, was able to establish the identity conclusively at DNA level as well.
The wines have a characteristically spicy aroma reminiscent of cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and dark forest fruits.
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