Grape variety · Red
Zinfandel / Primitivo
California's heritage red grape, the same as Italy's Primitivo and Croatia's Tribidrag: ripe, jammy and often high in alcohol.
- Red
- Home: Croatia, Dalmatian coast
- USA, Italy, Croatia, Australia
At a glance
- Also known as
- Primitivo
- Tribidrag
- Crljenak Kaštelanski
- Colour
- Red
- Origin
- Croatia, Dalmatian coast — known there as Tribidrag / Crljenak Kaštelanski
- Main regions
- California (Lodi, Sonoma, Paso Robles), Puglia (Primitivo di Manduria), Croatia
- Varietal or blend
- Mostly single variety; often found in old "field blend" vineyards with Petite Sirah and Carignan.
- Body & sweetness
- Medium to full-bodied, dry; also pale off-dry "White Zinfandel" rosé and port-style sweet wines.
Taste & style
- Flavour
- Blackberry jam, raspberry, black pepper and baking spice, plus raisin when very ripe.
- Style
- Plush and spicy, often 14–16% alcohol.
In the vineyard & winery
- Growing
- Bunches ripen unevenly, with raisined and green berries on the same cluster. Very old vines remain in California.
- Winemaking
- Often aged in American oak.
Food matches
- Barbecue ribs and burgers
- Pizza
- Spicy sausage
- Chilli con carne
Notes
- Plavac Mali, once thought to be Zinfandel, is in fact one of its offspring.