Primitivo is grown widely over Southern Italy in Sardinia, Campania, Abruzzo, Basilicata and Apulia. Zinfandel is grown in several areas of North America, such as Arizona, Texas, Washington, Colorado, California, and British Columbia.
Primitivo is harvested at lower sugar and higher acid contents, producing a subtler wine that can withstand a bit of aging. Zin is allowed to ripen to a higher sugar content, producing a drink-now wine with a higher than average abv (alcohol by volume).
Generally speaking, French oak barrels are used for primitivo for a subtler approach that won’t overwhelm the wine. American oak is used for zinfandel and gives a more powerful punch of oak characteristics to meet the higher alcohol, fruitier wine.
Primitivo shows less jammy fruit and has higher acidity so my choice pairing would be grilled vegetables with a tomato-based sauce. Pizza and burgers are also good options. Classic pairing for zinfandel is bbq sauce. The sauce is usually slightly spicy and sweet, which is an excellent companion to zin’s touch of pepper and huge sweet fruit.
The use of ‘old vine zinfandel’ on a label stems from the ideas that very old vines produce less fruit and that fewer grapes on a vine mean more flavor. Since there are no legal requirements for using this on a label in the United States, and zin is a long-living vine that outlives and outproduces most of its neighboring grapes anyway, I am uninterested in the use of ‘old vine’ on a zin label.
Comments