From Primitivo to Zinfandel to Tribidrag
A red by any other name
All the intrigue of a TV who-dun-it about wine
A long and winding road to resolve the controversy about the identity and origin of an important grape variety. Much of the background information for this article is from the book Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Voulliamz.
Commercial Break: A sensational bargain on a mystery dozen of Cabernet Sauvignon
This variety ranks 27 globally in terms of area planted, but until relatively recently there was confusion about its identity and origin. The story about resolving this is a stranger than fiction tale involving an international trade dispute, vested interests, a fair amount of nationalism, a couple of sidetracks and finally science in the form of DNA analysis provides the answer.
The timeline
1799 onwards Primitivo in Puglia
The earliest records of the variety called Primitivo in Puglia were from about this date. The name is based on the Latin for early.
1820s onwards - Zinfandel in USA
A variety called Zinfandel appears in an east coast USA nursery catalogue. However, the variety became increasingly popular in the west coast state of California during the later half of the 1800s. The argument that it is a native American variety is pure fantasy. It is a Vitis vinifera variety. Nobody really knows how the variety got its name.
1840s onwards Plavac Mali in Croatia
Plavac Mali is the most widely grown red variety in Croatia. It bears more than a superficial resemblance to Zinfandel. The wines are typically deeply coloured, powerful and alcoholic, but some grown on elevated sites they can be quite elegant.
16 June 1904 Zinfandel comes second in the Ascot Gold Cup
A major mention of the name Zinfandel is in James Joyce’s 1922 epic novel Ulysses. The action in the novel takes place in the streets, pubs and brothels of Dublin on 16 June 1904. Although the book is fiction, it includes references to many real events and places. One passage in Ulysses relates to the news that on that day a horse called Throwaway has won the Ascot Gold Cup with Zinfandel running second and Spectre third. I’m not sure what this has to do with wine but every good story needs a reference to Ireland in it. A horse broadens the appeal.
1960s The Zinfandel - Primitivo Dispute
The similarity of Zinfandel to Primitivo came to light in the 1960s. Morphological and biochemical evidence seemed to indicate that the two varieties were actually the same. Puglian winemakers saw this as a marketing opportunity to sell their Primitivo into the US labelled as Zinfandel, undercutting the Californian product.
What about Plavac Mali?
The Croatians also saw an opportunity to get into the US market on the coattails of the Italian ‘Zinfandel’. They didn’t get very far with that.
1985 US bans Primitivo labelled as Zinfandel
The Californians responded by calling in the heavies against the Puglians in the form of the Board of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), who ruled in favour of the locals. BATF seems to be more successful at controlling the ‘A’ bit of their acronym than the ‘F’. They were primarily interested in raising tax but were able to stop the Puglians labelling their wines Zinfandel despite the weight of scince.
1994 Primitivo and Zinfandel are genetically the same
Carol Meredith at UC Davis shows that the two varieties are the same. In other words, all of the vines of both varieties have arisen via asexual reproduction from a single mother vine which has grown from one seed.
So this settled one question. But it leads us to another. Where did Primitivo/Zinfandel originate? The jingoistic battle between US and Italy takes centre stage. The Croatians seemingly sidelined as their horse, Plavac Mali, is disqualified on DNA evidence.
1998-2001 The Zinquest
The search to find the origin of Zinfandel was dubbed “Zinquest”. If Plavac Mali is the offspring of Zinfandel, and it is found only in Croatia, then there must have been some Zinfandel in Croatia before the 1840s when Plavac Mali was first documented. So maybe there is still some Zinfandel there, probably under another name. For several years spanning the turn of the 21st Century, US and Croatian researchers sifted through old vineyards and performed DNA analysis to try to find some Zinfandel vines. In 2001 they found the variety Crljenak Kastelanski on an island off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Its DNA matched that of Zinfandel/Primitivo, and it was older than both. Maybe this was the answer to Zinquest. For a couple of years it was.
The Final Answer: Tribidrag!
A very old vine of a variety called Tribidrag was found in the seaside village of Vinišće south of Split. Again, its DNA matched that of Zinfandel. Herbarium specimens and records show that Tribidrag dates back to at least 1518.
At least Tribidrag is easier to spell than Crljenak Kastelanski.
In Summary
Zinfandel and Primitivo are the same variety.
Plavac Mali is in fact a distinct but related variety. It is the result of a natural cross of Tribidrag and another old Croatian variety. DNA analysis shows there are other Croatian varieties with Tribidrag parentage.
Crljenak Kastelanski is an old name for the variety, but not the oldest.
Tribidrag is the oldest name for the variety. According to the rule of priority it is the “correct” name. This rule is widely ignored, for example we use the name Malbec rather than Cot.
The Croatians have the last laugh over the Americans and Italians.
What name is on the label?
Wine Australia allows labels to show the name of the variety, or a recognised synonym. Zinfandel, Primitivo and Tribidrag are all recognised synonyms. Whether the name on the label is Zinfandel or Primitivo will depend on the choice of winemaker and probably the marketing team.
What this means for winelovers
Zinfandel and Primitivo can be regarded as clones of the same variety, or as separate varieties if you are not a stickler for scientific accuracy. There is a wide range of wide styles made and most of the variation will be due to terroir, viticulture and winemaking practices rather than any clonal variation.
Join us for a Zoom call about Zinfandel/Primitivo
Darby’s wine community holds regular taste and talk sessions about interesting wine topics. Our next talk will be held Thursday 15th May. We will be discussing Zinfandel/Primitivo. Put it in your diary now. Zoom details closer to event.
Some recent pages on this site
Nice story Darby, can I use it in a Photo Story on Vivino? I'll even fix the speeling! lol
Didn't realise Pirramimma did a Primitivo, I usually shy away from Zin, but I love their Petit Verdot!
"BATF seems to be more successful at controlling the ‘A’ bit of their acronym than the ‘F’." Yep, the new wowsers and don't let me start on the ridiculous laws against sending wine direct to consumers . (Cue: angry face emoji.)