Primitive

The history of Primitivo is lost in the mists of time. It most likely arrived in Puglia from the other side of the Adriatic by the Illyrians, a people from the Balkan region dedicated to growing vines. It began to be marketed throughout the Mediterranean by the ancient Phoenicians who frequented our coasts. Proof of this is the fact that in Roman times, alongside the word "vinum", "merum" was used, vinum, wine flavored with honey, water, and various resins; instead, merum meant pure, sincere wine. Indelicati selected the vine that at the time was called zagarese, to then name it "primitivo", a term deriving from the Latin primativus . Connecting us to the origin, its DNA is shared with the Zinfandel vine (Californian) and with the Croatian vine Plavac Mali; the latter is the cross between Zinfandel and the Croatian vine Dobričić. If Primitivo began its history in the Murge, it will then be in the sunny lands of Salento (and in particular in the surrounding ones, such as the Manduria, Sava, Lizzano and Maruggio farms, favorable to the improvement of its qualities) that it will reach its maximum diffusion. This last journey of Primitivo was due to the wedding of the countess Sabini of Altamura and Don Tommaso Schiavoni-Tafuri of Manduria. In fact, the noblewoman brought from her hometown some selected cuttings of the precious plant, a sort of dowry that her husband from Manduria knew how to exploit very well.

Primitivo has led to truly remarkable products that have established its rediscovery by the general public. Primitivo generally has an intense and deep ruby ​​color, with purple hues that tend to garnet with aging. On the nose, the scents are of red fruits such as black cherry, blackberry, plum, with additional floral notes of violet. The aging in wood gives it spicy scents, among which we find cinnamon, cocoa, black pepper and licorice. On the palate it is warm, full and enveloping, with delicate tannins and endowed with good persistence. Also excellent when paired with soups and mature cheeses, it is at its best with grilled, roasted, stewed meats, game, matured cured meats and first courses based on land.