A Southern Italian Primitivo

Primitivo, Italy's answer to Zinfandel...

Gioia del Colle Castle

Apulia, also known as Puglia, on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy produces a huge quantity of wine. Along with Sicily and Veneto it contends for the dubious title of Italy’s top wine producer, volume wise. This is an up and coming region, quality wise. While the region is flat, its soil tends to be good for winemaking. This particular wine comes from the region’s center, not far south from Bari, the regional capital. It is named for a lovely small town whose name translates to Jewels of the Neck. There you will find a Thirteenth Century castle, lots of private label Primitivo wines, great mozzarella cheese, and local pasta known as orechiette (little ears). The manhole covers come from the days of BM, Benito Mussolini, but you won’t see me trying to sneak any home. The winery’s main building is over 100 years old but it is equipped with up to date machinery and is certified ISO. The Gioia del Colle DOC designation also includes a few sweet red wines that just may end up in my baggage after my next visit. Today’s companion wine is an inexpensive (if you buy it in the US, not in Canada) California Zinfandel coming from vines in their mid-forties. Zinfandel is America’s only native European grape variety and some experts, but not all, consider it to be a relative of Primitivo.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Coppi Peucetico Primitivo 2006 Gioia del Colle DOC 13.5% alcohol about $13

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Description: Gioia del Colle is in the very heart of Puglia and enjoys the honor of being the hometown of Primitivo. In the 1700s, a local priest identified these vines and named them after their early ripening nature; Primitivo derives from the Latin primativus which means 'first to ripen.' This ripe Primitivo shows lovely berry and cherry fruit, floral notes as well as hints of coffee, mineral and earth. It's ready to drink with veal scallopini in a sun-dried tomato sauce. And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine was grapey. It was mildly acidic and thick but had no tannins. The initial meal was a slow cooked beef stew with chick peas and potatoes. With the beef the Primitivo exuded lots of red berries and was pleasingly long. The accompanying chick peas increased its acidity and the potatoes increased the berry taste.

The next meal was homemade chili and rice. Now the Primitivo offered pleasant oak. It was mouth filling with a fine balance among tannins, fruit, and acidity. This was a rustic wine, and a good one. The accompaniment of green beans in tomato sauce increased this wine’s acidity.

My final meal started with tomatoey barbecued chicken wings. This Primitivo was round and mouthfilling. I had the impression that the wine melted into the wings. Then came a barbecued chicken breast in virtually the same sauce. My reaction was basically identical but the wine became more acidic and I tasted tobacco as well. The side dish was one of my favorites, potatoes roasted in chicken fat. Now plums came to the fore. A fresh tomato didn’t faze the Primitivo at all; the wine was acidic, musky, and tasty. While this is no dessert wine, I did try it with two desserts. With delicate almond meringue cookies the wine was not very expressive; it was round, light, and tasted of cherries. With fruit juice candy the wine was quiet, perhaps because it was overwhelmed.

In response to a bland brick cheese the Primitivo tasted of cherries and some oak. With a tastier Muenster cheese the wine tasted of cherries and was round, but wasn’t as good as with the previous cheese.

Final verdict. I would definitely buy this wine again. They say that Apulia (or if you prefer Puglia) is an up and coming wine region. I believe it. And I would like to taste this wine’s sweet red cousins although it’s more a question of curiosity than anything else.

Access the companion wine A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wine - A California Old Vines Zinfandel

About the Author

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine websites include
www.theworldwidewine.com    and    http://www.wineinyourdiet.com

Visit his website devoted to Italian travel www.travelitalytravel.com

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