What you need to know

Primitivo or Zinfandel is a red wine grape, which was grown as different grapes until the 70s when it was discovered to be the same.

Normally you find Zinfandel (or Zin) grown in California and it is considered to be the ‘signature’ grape of the US.

Primitivo turns up in the Puglia region in the heel of Italy and is becoming more fashionable due to the Zin link.

Whilst there are distinct differences between the two wines both have a signature high level of alcohol and deep brambley flavour.

Californian Zin tends to be softer with more jammy juicy flavours and, often sweet vanilla oak. It’s also the source of the pink ‘blush’ wines.

Whereas Primitivo is much more robust with high tannins and fantastic intense flavours.

Top tip – If you’ve tried Zinfandel and like your wines a bit more robust try Primitivo.