2023 Primitivo

The mysteries surrounding Primitivo and Zinfandel are for the most part resolved.  In the beginning of the Zinfandel Primitivo controversy, genetic testing couldn’t distinguish between the two grapes, but did this mean that they were the same?  Or perhaps the analysis lacked the precision to illuminate a difference?  Today it is generally accepted that Primitivo and Zinfandel are both genetically equivalent to the Croatian variety Tribidrag.  Primitivo is the name commonly used for the selection of Tribidrag grown in the Puglia region of southeastern Italy.  Zinfandel is the name used for the selection of Tribidrag vines grown in California.  

In the vineyard, I can count on two distinctions between Primitivo and Zinfandel.  First is that true to its name, Primitivo ripens first.  Often by as much as a week to ten days.  In the twenty-four years we have produced both wines only in the frost ravaged 2011 vintage did we harvest Zinfandel before Primitivo.  The second distinction is that the downy tomentum on the underside of the Zinfandel leaf is absent from the Primitivo.  I suspect that the parasitic Willamette and Pacific spider mites that often call the tomentum home may be a parasitic handicap that contributes to the delayed ripening of the Zinfandel.

In the winery we have come to recognize a third distinction and that is that Primitivo doesn’t ‘hide’ its sugar level like Zinfandel.  Zinfandel berries have a tendency to shrivel and start to dry as they ripen.  The result is that when we measure the sugar content of the grapes, we get an understated reading.  It is not uncommon for us to get an alcohol level in the resulting wine that far exceeds what is physically possible given the level of sugar we measured at harvest.  This makes Zinfandel tricky to produce because the final alcohol level is unpredictable.  This is not the case with Primitivo.  When we measure the sugar content of the Primitivo grapes at harvest we can accurately predict the alcohol in the wine. 

Over time the wines made from the Primitivo grape have more restraint with juicier red fruits, lower alcohol levels, and more elegant tannins than the beefier Zinfandel.  The flavor profiles are similar, but it seems the Zinfandel just seems to have a bit more stuffing.  Sometimes I find myself describing Primitivo as Zinfandel with ‘training wheels.’