Grape variety with a history: predictions about Primitivo

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Lots of dark, sweet fruit, some cherry cola, some licorice and as velvety and soft on the palate as a horse’s mouth: Primitivo is the easy-drinking red wine of Puglia. But behind the popular variety there is an exciting story of conflict over wine politics.

Grape is not truly Italian. In the 1960s, a US botanist noticed that Californian Zinfandel and Primitivo were very similar. He took the planting material to America, analyzed it and started an avalanche because the varieties were the same. Americans didn’t like this at all. Zinfandel was a grape of its own, “born in the USA” and not brought by immigrants from Europe like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Official ban in the USA

In 1994, when genetic analysis showed that Primitivo and Zinfandel were the same, Italian winemakers fought to be allowed to put Zinfandel on their labels. They hoped this would give them a sales advantage. And the situation got worse. It has long been suspected in Italy that Primitivo originally came from Croatia and is identical to the Plavac Mali variety. This did not happen. However, as the rumor persisted, Croatian winemakers wanted to market their Plavac Mali in the US under the name Zinfandel. However, this practice has been officially banned by the American BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives).

War over Zinfandel

The so-called “Zinfandel War” also had a bright side. Grapevine scientists received research funding and intensified their work. The relationship between grape varieties was only determined in the 2000s. Primitivo, Zinfandel and Tribidrag, also known as Crljenak Kaštelanski, are genetically identical varieties. Tribidrag has been grown in the Split region of Croatia since the 15th century.

Correct wine political name

Primitivo is derived from the first, “primo”, and refers to the early ripening of the variety in Apulia vineyards. The reason why the vine is called Zinfandel in the USA is that an Austrian vine refiner from near Vienna brought the variety to New York in the first half of the 19th century. He established a vine nursery on Long Island. The vine cuttings were probably mistakenly labeled with the name of the Austrian variety Zierfandler. This later became Zinfandel. The abbreviation ZPC is often used today as the correct name in terms of wine policy: Zinfandel, Primitivo, Crljenak Kaštelanski.

Source : Blick