Ep. 432 Sangiovese Lambrusco... | Primitivo

Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. My name is Joy Living in. And for the next several weeks, I will be bringing you some choice narrated content from the book San Jose, Lambrusco, and other vine stories written by mister Science himself, Professor Atigio Shenza, and Serena Eimaccio. Published by positive press dot net. To get a copy of the book, the kindle version is available on Amazon and hardcover copies are available from positive press. If you like the content we share each week, consider donating to our show. Find details at italian wine podcast dot com or on our social media channels. Sit back and get your geek on as we jump into the details stories and science of Italian wines and vines. The great traveler, Primitivo. As well as being one of the most important vines for Viticulture and winemaking in Pulia. Primitivo is a great globetrotter. Its curious name was given to it towards the end of the eighteenth century by the Primit cellio of Joya Delcole. Don Francesco Filipo Indellicati, who isolated it among old vines and cultivated it in bulk. In this rather chaotic context, our vine stood out for its early ripening, hence the name primitivo. Another characteristic is that it has shoots that come from the buds of the shoots of the year with clusters locally called racines that in early areas reach maturity about a month after the main bunches and can be vinified. Today, Primitivo is mainly cultivated in the Manduria area in Tarantino, from which the Primitivo de Manduria doc is produced. And in the Barriza area in the territory of Julia Delcole. Barri's Viticulture has seen a progressive reduction in the area under vines with an important decline, especially for some varieties Putmiunctiva goes against this trend, being one of the few vines to show a growth trend. We were saying that it is a globe trotting vine. In fact, it is found across the Atlantic in the United States. In California, it is one of the oldest imported varieties cultivated since at least eighteen sixty under the name of Zinfandel, a name unknown in Europe. This is one of the most important grape varieties in the United States, used mainly for fine red and rose wines. Among these, a certain part of the production is also destined for the Italian market. Let's imagine an immigrant, about to leave his native land, full of fear at the idea of facing the unknown and the hardships of a difficult journey and the prospect of reconstructing his life from scratch. Overwhelmed by sadness and at being forced to abandon his roots. This man decides that some of those roots should come with him. Thus, ever so carefully, he packs a small branch of his ancestor's vine in his suitcase. It might have well been like that or not. History has even more ancient and distant origins. The fascinating reconstruction of its origins. So where does Primitivo come from? In Apulia, there has always been the awareness that this is an imported vine. The first evidence of its presence in this region dates back to the end of the eighteenth century. The most recent studies have restricted probable area of origin to Montenegro and Dalmatia. Croatian and Californian researchers have formed a task force committed to a Vinehut. And they did a thorough sweep along the coasts of Croatia. Thanks to this research, individual strains of Primitivo were identified in mixed vineyards along the coasts near split, where it was discovered that it was called Sir Janak Castellansky, and was considered an old and rare local grape variety, now in danger of extinction. Also, in Dalmatia, a very impressive study was started conducted on the DNA of leaves cataloged in an old herbarium. Currently preserved in the museum of natural history in split, dating back to the beginning of the last century and made by the Amplographer Stepan Bulllik. This study was conducted to discover whether there were some forgotten or even extinct varieties missing links among the preserved samples in order to complete the pedigree of the varieties traditionally grown in Croatia. The analysis of one of these varieties has identified a grape variety in Trevidrig that has been mentioned since at least eighteen twenty one, which is a synonym of primitivo. The journey in search of the origins of Premitivo proceeded even further south along the eastern shores of the Adriatic until Montenego was reached. A country with an ancient wine and vine tradition and an assortment of varieties consisting of mainly native varieties. Montenegro is the size of Pemonte and only part of its territory is home to wine growing. The area around Lake Scodor and the coastal region. Here, Primitivo is cultivated under the name of Cartosia, and it represents one of the oldest and historically most important varieties of local quit culture. The long tradition in the cultivation of this variety has led to the transformation in the vineyards, especially the older ones, of a set of heterogeneous biotypes. Anyone who deals with population genetics knows that the place where within a species, there is a great genetic variability, biodiversity, is probably the territory in which that species originated. The biodiversity of the criteria identified in these places testifies to its ancient presence in the territory. Monteenegro is therefore the most likely candidate as the country of origin of Arvin and Cratocilia is, in fact, the oldest name for a variety that is obviously international. There are many supporting elements for this hypothesis and include rich literary examples and a series of historical data. The Primitivo is also the protagonist of some interesting first degree relationships. In fact, this vine is most likely the parent along with Dobriq of Plabakh Mali, one of the most important and valuable black buried varieties in Croatia. Several minor montenegrin varieties also revolve around Cartosia. The DNA study carried out on montenegrin varieties has identified two progenitors recurrent parents of most of the vines in this small Balkan country. One of these is Cratocilia to which twenty one indigenous varieties including Veranak and Babic were first related. Cratocilia and Veranak are often grown together and sometimes confused with each other because of their similarity. Therefore, Montenegro boasts a viticulture that goes back centuries that developed from a family of grape varieties genetically bound confirming their immunological tradition. The vine varieties and wines of Montenegro are unique in the world map of vine growing areas. Thank you for listening to this week's installment of San Jose Lambrusco and other vine stories. We hope you expanded your horizons and gave your brain cells an Italian wine workout. We'll see you again next Thursday and remember. The kindle version of the book is available on Amazon and hardcover copies are available from positive press dot net. If you feel inspired to make a donation to our show, please visit us at the Italian wine podcast dot com. Find Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram. Our Twitter handle is at ita wine podcast.