The red grape variety originates from Croatia. Synonyms are Morellone, Primaticcio, Primativo, Primitivo, Primitivo di Gioia, Uva di Corato, Zagarese (Italy); Crljenac Kaštelanski, Crljenak Crni, Crljenak Kaštelanski, Plavac Veliki, Pribidrag, Trebidrag (Croatia); Grakošija, Gratošija, Krakošija, Kratkošica, Kratkošija, Kratkošija Crna, Kratošija, Kratošijo (Montenegro); Zinfandel (USA). It should not be confused with the varieties Blatina, Crljenak Crni, Plavac Mali or Vranac, despite seemingly suggestive synonyms or morphological similarities. According to DNA analyses carried out by Dr Carole Meredith and John Bowers at the University of California in collaboration with Croatian and Italian grapevine specialists from 1994 to 2011, the identity, which had been unclear for decades, was clarified:
four names - one grape variety
The Croatian Tribidrag (also known as Crljenak Kaštelanski), the Italian Primitivo, the Californian Zinfandel and the Montenegrin Kratošija have the same origin. The variety is therefore also referred to as ZPC = Zinfandel / Primitivo / Crljenak Kaštelanski. Although Primitivo and Tribidrag/Zinfandel are not 100% identical according to DNA comparisons, they are considered to be one variety. According to the ampelographic rule, a variety is labelled according to its oldest name, which is why the name Tribidrag, which was already mentioned in the 15th century, was proposed. The varieties have developed somewhat differently over the last 200 years in terms of ripening time, susceptibility to disease and flavour. The Zinfandel variety (see there in detail) has its own history in the USA.
Origin
The earliest mention of Primitivo was made in 1799 by the botanist Francesco Filippo Indellicati (1767-1831) from Gioia del Colle (province of Bari) in Apulia. He discovered the rare vine in his vineyard. He noticed its early ripening at the end of August, which is why he coined the name "Primativo" or "Primaticcio" from the Latin "primativus" for "first to ripen". It was then named Zagarese (after the Croatian city of Zagreb). Indellicati planted the vine...
