Primitivo is a fascinating wine. Originating from Croatia, Primitivo was then grown in Italy for thousands of years. DNA testing has now confirmed that Primitivo is the exact same grape as Zinfandel, made popular by Californian wineries. The original Croatian name for this grape is Crljenak.

In modern times, Primitivo is primarily known for being grown in southern Italy.

Primitivo is known for flavors such as spice, plum, fruit flavors.

Interestingly, there is a lot of trauma and discussion about the Zinfandel / Primitivo situation. Winemakers in California put a huge amount of effort in creating the Zinfandel brand from scratch, overcoming consumer resistance, explaining to them that Zinfandel can make a high quality wine. Finally after decades of effort they have achieved that aim. Zinfandel has a world wide following.

Their concern is, now that Primitivo has been proven to be "the same as Zinfandel", that the huge plantings of "Zinfandel" in southern Italy will flood the market. They fear that the Italian "Zinfandels" will not be as high quality in care of the vines or winemaking techniques - and Zinfandel will become looked on as a "cheap wine".

Italians of course strongly proclaim they can make high end "Zinfandel" wines with an Italian flair.

Only time will tell!

Zinfandel Wine Information
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All content on the WineIntro website is personally written by author and wine enthusiast Lisa Shea. WineIntro explores the delicious variety and beautiful history which makes up our world of wine! Lisa loves supporting local wineries and encouraging people to drink whatever they like. We all have different taste buds, and that makes our world wonderful. Always drink responsibly.