Primitivo: Godfather of Zin? First celebrated in 1989, Italian American Heritage Month each October honors and recognizes the centuries of achievements and contributions of the Italian immigrants and Italian Americans. Between 1820 and 2000, over five million Italians immigrated to the United States between 1820 and 2000 bringing with them a rich cuisine, and a tradition of growing grapes and ZapClean Review making wine. Today 26 million Americans of Italian descent live in the United States making Italian-Americans the fifth largest ethnic group in our nation, according to the Order of the Sons and Daughters of Italy and they will be celebrating all month. Here‘s a list of festivals. Of course my favorite Italian American is my writing partner and US Wine Tasting Team mate Sue Hill! For many people when they think about Italian Americans, Italy, and specifically, Sicily, they think about The Godfather - the book by Mario Puzo and the cinematic trilogy which starred Marlon Brando.
Check out the opening scene below, and the passionate music below. Last year when we were generating ideas for the Italian ZapClean food cleaner, Wine, and Travel group that we participate in each month, Sue suggested we host "Primitivo: The Godfather of Zinfandel" for November because we both feel that Zinfandel is a great wine for Thanksgiving meals, and what is Thanksgiving and The Godfather about but family? This invite is Godfather 1, where we consider how Zinfandel is related to Primitivo - or not- and we pique our interest in the topic with a pair of wines from California’s El Dorado County, comparing a Zinfandel with a Primitivo. For the preview which I will publish in the first week of November, which will list the participating bloggers’ titles and links to their sites (details below on how YOU can join!), we will once again compare California Zinfandel with Primitivo AND bring in a Primitivo from Italy to evaluate, again considering the relationship between these two grapes.
So how are these grapes the same - and different? Wikipedia conflates the two and even redirects Primitivo to Zinfandel, and states that DNA anaylsis of this black skinned grape shows "it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kaštelanski and Tribidrag, as well as to the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Apulia (the "heel" of Italy), where it was introduced in the 18th century. In 1967, UC Davis professor Austin Goheenis visited Italy where Primitivo reminded him of Zinfandel. In 1968, Primitivo came to California, and in 1972, ampelographers found it identical to Zinfandel. Wine made in California from the Italian Primitivo grapes in 1975 seemed identical to Zinfandel, and indeed, PhD student Wade Wolfe saw the same isozyme fingerprints. It’s easy to find Zinfandel from California; 10% of California vineyards are planted in this grape. And it’s easy to find Primitivo from Italy. Harder to find Primitivo in the US, and Zinfandel from Italy, but both exist.
We’ve found pockets of both Zinfandel and Primitivo thriving in El Dorado County and, likewise, there are patches of Primitivo growing near Zinfandel in Italy. Have fun! More details below. Founded by Chaim and Elisheva Gur-Arieh in 2000 on 209 acres located between the south and middle forks of the Cosumnes River in the Shenandoah Valley of the Sierra Foothills, Di Arie’s 1700′ elevation vineyards has hot days, temperate nights, cool moderating breezes, and loam soils. They built a 12,000 sq.ft facility with views of the nearby vineyards and the Sierra Foothills that takes advantage of the terrain to use a gravity feed as part of the winemaking process. They have 40 acres in vines with plans to add 30 more. Nose: Pepper, baking spices, clove, bay leaf, raspberry, fresh fruit vs. Palate: Bright acidic fruit, very clean; some zinfandels are very heavy but not this wine. There is a bit of viscosity. Wild strawberry, raspberry, rhubarb with spice on the palate as well.