Primitivo at 24 or 43 francs: what do you get for the difference?
Twenty-five years ago hardly anyone had heard of it; today it's one of Switzerland's best-selling red wines. Why Primitivo wins you over from the first sip, why it goes by a different name in California, and what happens in the 43-franc bottle that doesn't happen in the 24-franc one.
The wine that hurts no one
There are red wines you have to learn. Barolo, Bordeaux, Nebbiolo from Piedmont: often sour, hard, closed on the first glass. Primitivo is the opposite. Soft, warm, dark-fruited, with a sweetness that doesn't come from sugar but from very ripe grapes. It tastes, from the first sip, like what many people wish red wine would taste like. That's why it has gone from workhorse wine to bestseller over the past 20 years.
The grape
The name comes from "primo", the first: Primitivo ripens earlier than almost any other variety, often by mid-August in Apulia. The grapes become extremely sweet, and the alcohol level is correspondingly high, 14 to 15 percent is normal. That's not a flaw, it's part of the character.
The variety grows almost exclusively in Apulia, the heel of the Italian boot, mainly around Manduria and in the Salento. The vines there are often grown as alberello, low bush vines without a wire frame, some over 80 years old. Yields are small, concentration is high.
The twin in California
One of the wine world's nicest stories: for decades Zinfandel was considered the quintessential Californian grape, while Primitivo was treated as an Apulian speciality. In the 1990s, DNA analysis at the University of California, Davis showed they are the same variety. Both descend from a Croatian grape called Crljenak Kaštelanski, which reached Italy across the Adriatic and America via emigrants. If you like Zinfandel, you'll like Primitivo, and vice versa.
Three styles from our range
The entry point: Primitivo Capolavoro IGP Salento, CHF 23.90. Off-dry, very soft, plenty of plum and cherry. The wine for a weeknight, for guests who usually find red wine too harsh, and for anything off the grill.
The serious one: Capo dei Capi, CHF 39.90. Dry, denser, aged in oak. Shows that Primitivo can have depth too. With braises, lamb, mature cheese.
The special one: Cuore di Tenebra Rosso Passito, CHF 42.90. Primitivo, Negroamaro and Malvasia from semi-dried grapes, made in the style of Amarone. Concentrated, almost chocolatey, a wine for a winter evening.
And as a rosé: Caporosa Primitivo Rosé, CHF 22.90, dry and noticeably more powerful than a Provence rosé.
How it tastes best
Lightly chilled, 16 degrees, no warmer. At room temperature the alcohol pushes forward. With grilled food, pizza with salami, pasta with ragù, roasted aubergine, and with anything from the region: orecchiette, burrata, taralli.
