Price: $11.99
Sale Price: $9.97
This is the definition of a value wine: ten dollars and delicious! It is also a pizza wine in its purest form, dark-fruited softly tannic and powerful enough to handle all the spices, cheeses, mushrooms and meats that bedeck any pizza pie worthy of our time and attention. So what is Primitivo? The variety owes its name to its early ripening; indeed Primitivo comes from the Latin “primativus”, which means “early ripening”. In the early 19th Century, Primitivo was introduced to the United States, under the name Zinfandel. It proved extremely successful in the US, earning a reputation as the American 'national grape'. It caused significant consternation on both sides of the Atlantic when DNA analysis proved that Zinfandel and Primitivo were the same variety. Of course, they retain the name Primitivo in the southern ‘heel’ of Italy know as Puglia. Luccarelli is a well run co-operative winery dependent on the labor of their growers who have a multi-generational history with the land and its vines. The vineyards lie a short distance east of Taranto in the Salento Peninsula on red and clay soil. The sea breezes from the Ionian Sea help to mitigate the heat in the vineyards allowing for wines with more delicate flavors and a sense of freshness on the finish. An intense ruby red color with violet reflections in the glass this full-bodies wine has a complex bouquet of red fruits and spices. In addition to the aforementioned pizza this modestly priced red suits hearty dishes such as spit-roasted Puglian lamb or a bean stew, cooked in Primitivo and served with bacon.
