[CH] Cal Zin & Italian Primitivo
Alan Boehmer (alan@thegrid.net)
Sat, 05 May 2001 11:07:11 -0700
Since there seems to be quite a bit of interest in this subject, I'll
throw in an additional comment.
Zinfandel has long been believed to be a mutation of a southern Italian
grape. That's especially likely, considering that the oldest vitis
vinifera plantings in California were largely carried out by Italian,
French, and Swiss immigrants. Since the Puglian varietal "Primitivo"
seemed to be the most likely canditate, many California wineries and
marketing people jumped on that bandwagon about the time that
Californians were just beginning to become interested in Italian wines.
A new twist was introduced by Mike Grgich (Napa Valley winemaker who
happens to be Croatian) around 5 or 6 years ago. He had UC Davis conduct
DNA tests on Cal Zin and on a native Croatian grape Plavacs Mali. The
tests concluded that the two varietals are genetically identical. There
has been widespread doubt, however, within the California wine community
regarding these results.
We do know that Grgich's Plavacs Mali (grown and produced in Croatia)
passes for California Zin in blind tastings, while Primitivo di Manduria
generally does not. Other research has suggested that the oldest
Zinfandel plantings in California predate all known Primitivo vineyards
in Puglia. Some have even promulgated the notion that the Italians got
it from us!
So the matter is still somewhat undecided. As for Zin's aptitude as a
chile partner, well...I won't bite on that one!
Alan Boehmer
Editor, California Wine
http://suite101.com/welcome.cfm/california_wine