Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
estates in the two production zones appear to
be using essentially the same genetic material,
and most have planted the same clones, of
which 55/A is considered most interesting. As
Filippo Cassano of the star-studded Polvanera
estate in Gioia del Colle has told me, “I don't
even think the clone is important, though I
agree 55/A is a good one and we're going to
plant more of it; the key with Primitivo is the
rootstock, for if the vine is too vigorous it has
trouble producing fruit after fl owering.” Cas-
sano likes to use an old rootstock, the 157/11
Couderc that tames vigor. Marianna Annia of
the Pietraventosa estate, a small but up-and-
coming operation, told me of experiments done
at the Research Center Basile Caramia in Loco-
rotondo: “Having selected three biotypes in the
Gioia area, they replanted them in Manduria,
obtaining in a short time still different-looking
plants, though genetically they were the same.”
There are also many available clones of Primi-
tivo: UBA 55/A, UBA 47/B, UBA 46/H, UBA
47/A, UNIMI-VITIS-PRI VV 501, UNIMI-
VITIS-PRI VV 501, VCR 367, VCR 368, and
VCR 369 (the UBA clones are selections from
Gioia del Colle).
Puglia is Primitivo's home in Italy, and at
11,133 hectares it is one of the country's ten
most-planted red varieties (though Puglia's
other famous red variety, Negro Amaro, is still
more common). Primitivo is a variety on a roll:
in the decade separating the last two Italian
agricultural censuses, the surface area devoted
to the variety has increased by close to 40 per-
cent. Still, this cultivar more than any other has
suffered from EU fi nancial incentives for vine
removal. Though the increase in hectarage
under vine has improved impressively since
2000 (when total hectares were only 7,951), the
total surface area devoted to Primitivo (at 1.7
percent of Italy's surface planted to grapevines)
remains much less today than the 17,000+ hec-
tares recorded in 1990. And I won't even begin
to talk about the fact that the vines pulled were
beautifully old, centenary vines. Besides Puglia,
where the vast majority of Primitivo plantings
are found, the variety is also grown in northern
Campania, and there are sporadic plantings
elsewhere, such as in Lazio.
Primitivo of course grows in many other
parts of the world. In the United States it has
had amazing success as Zinfandel (the 20,377
hectares planted as of 2008 in California alone
are more than all the Primitivo in Italy), but it
is also grown in Oregon and Washington State.
There are small holdings of Primitivo even far-
ther north on the Pacifi c coast, in Canada's
British Columbia, and much farther south,
where Mexico's sunny and warm climate makes
it a logical choice. Primitivo has met with a lit-
tle success in other European countries such as
Montenegro; far more in Croatia, where it has
been all the rage for some time, especially
along the Dalmatian coast. There is Primitivo
in South Africa as well. Even more successful
has been its Australian adventure, with plant-
ings in regions as diverse as Barossa Valley,
Clare Valley, Heathcote, Hunter Valley, Lang-
horne Creek, Margaret River, McLaren Vale,
and Rutherglen.
Which Wines to Choose and Why
The most famous Primitivo wines in Italy are
Primitivo di Manduria and Gioia del Colle
Primitivo. The wine can be dry or more rarely
sweet, and even fortifi ed (Liquoroso Secco and
Liquoroso Dolce). Falerno del Massico wines
near Caserta in Campania are also made with
Primitivo. The most famous of all these wines
is Primitivo di Manduria, which explains why
so much Primitivo is planted in the province of
Taranto (Manduria is a town in this province).
Insiders know that the Primitivo wine of Sava
(another town in this province) was always con-
sidered better by the locals, but a lack of quality
producers in the Sava area makes this hard to
judge nowadays. I do not have any recollection
of great Sava Primitivo wines. Conversely, real
excitement is being generated by the Gioia del
Colle Primitivo, of which there are now many
excellent examples.
In theory, the Primitivo di Gioia del Colle is
lighter and more graceful than the wine of
