What Is Primitivo di Manduria? The DOC, the Grape and the Rules

The appellation has 3 types of wine: Primitivo di Manduria DOC, Primitivo di Manduria Riserva DOC and Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale DOCG. The sweet wine was a type within the DOC from 1974 and became a DOCG of its own by ministerial decree on February 23, 2011. The consortium calls it the first DOCG in Puglia.

The consortium was founded in 1998 by 10 wineries, cooperatives and private estates, and received legal recognition in 2002. In 2015 the Ministry of Agriculture gave it sole charge of protecting, promoting and policing the name. Since January 1, 2023, Primitivo di Manduria DOC and Riserva must carry a state seal (contrassegno di Stato) on the bottle to be sold.

Primitivo is named for its early ripening. The production rules for Gioia del Colle, a DOC in the province of Bari, credit the priest and botanist Francesco Filippo Indellicati with selecting it. In a mixed vineyard at Gioia del Colle he noticed a variety that ripened before the others, named it Primativo, from the Latin primativus, and planted a vineyard of that variety alone. The Gioia del Colle rules give 1799 as the probable year. The Primitivo di Manduria rules say the end of the 1700s.

The vine buds late and ripens early, between late August and early September, according to the Gioia del Colle rules, which say the late budding protects it from spring frost.

Primitivo probably reached Manduria in the late 1800s. The Dolce Naturale DOCG rules say the Countess Sabini of Altamura brought cuttings when she married Tommaso Schiavoni Tafuri, who planted them on the dunes of Campomarino, near Maruggio. The consortium names the man who planted them as Don Menotti Schiavoni. Both sources date the first Primitivo from that vineyard, labeled Campo Marino, to 1891.

Genetic studies treat Primitivo and Zinfandel as one variety. A 2004 study by Edi Maletić, Carole Meredith and colleagues refers to "Zinfandel (syn. Primitivo)", concludes that Zinfandel originated in Croatia, and reports that vines called Crljenak kaštelanski and Pribidrag, found in Dalmatia in 2001 and 2002, matched Zinfandel's DNA profile. In 2011 a team at the University of Zagreb found that a 90-year-old herbarium sample labeled Tribidrag had the same DNA profile as Zinfandel, and linked the name to records of the grape in Croatia from the early 1400s. The consortium writes that the Illyrians probably brought the grape to Puglia from Dalmatia.

US labeling rules list Primitivo and Zinfandel as 2 separate approved grape names and do not mark either one as a synonym of the other.

The DOC rules and the DOCG rules are separate documents, published by Italy's Ministry of Agriculture. This table sets them side by side. Total alcohol, in EU wine law, is the alcohol in the wine plus the alcohol its remaining sugar could produce if fully fermented. Natural alcohol is the total before any enrichment, and enrichment is banned for all 3 types.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column

The rules also set these conditions for all 3 types:

• Only the first crop counts. Primitivo grows a second set of bunches, called femminelle or racemi, that ripen about a month after the main harvest. Growers once picked and fermented them on their own, and the wine came out drier, more tannic and darker than the first harvest. The rules exclude them.
• Vines must be trained as alberello pugliese, the Puglian bush vine, or on a trellis pruned Guyot or spurred cordon, with the fruiting wood no more than 3.3 feet (1 meter) above the ground. New vineyards need at least 1,416 vines per acre (3,500 per hectare). Irrigation is allowed only as emergency relief.
• The grapes may be dried before winemaking. For the Dolce Naturale, the rules allow drying on the vine, on racks or in crates, outdoors or in rooms with temperature, humidity or ventilation control.
• Winemaking must take place inside the production zone.
• The vintage must appear on the label. The bottle must be glass and closed with a stopper flush with its mouth. A screw cap is allowed only on bottles of 8.5 oz (250 ml) or less, and never on the Riserva.

The DOC rules describe 2 landscapes in the zone. The Ionian arc runs from the Ionian coast inland to the foot of the Murge plateau, in a series of terraces that step down toward the sea, with dunes along the shore. The Salento peninsula, to the southeast, alternates near-flat land with low limestone ridges.

The climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters averaging lows of 43 to 45°F (6 to 7°C) and hot summers averaging highs of 77 to 79°F (25 to 26°C). Rainfall is about 26 inches (650 mm) a year, mostly in winter. The rules say the Salento part of the zone is more humid than the rest of Puglia, with muggy summers.

The rules describe deep clay loam soils in the west of the zone that turn sandy and thin toward the coast. On the coastal strip, the substrate lies within 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 cm) of the surface, which limits how deep roots can go. Soils get deeper inland. The 3 Brindisi towns have mostly well-drained sandy clay loam. The consortium describes the soil as red from iron, with limestone in the subsoil, turning to sand in the districts nearest the sea. It also describes the limestone and clay of the terra rossa, the red soil of the zone. For more on how soil and climate shape a wine, see our terroir guide.

The consortium writes that Primitivo here grows as alberello, the oldest vine training system, with 3 arms and a height of no more than 4.9 feet (1.5 meters). It says the sun, wind and sea of the Ionian coast suit the vine, and that drought concentrates the sugar in the grapes.

The DOC rules describe the wine as deep red, turning toward garnet with age, with a broad, complex smell and a taste from dry to medium dry. For the Riserva they add a hint of plum, full body and a velvety texture.

The consortium describes young Primitivo di Manduria as purple-tinged, with red fruit and wild berries over a spicy note, and plum, cherry and blackberry. It describes the palate as rich and warm with good tannic structure, and names the scent of lentisk, a shrub of the Mediterranean scrub that grows among the vines. It describes the Riserva, which ages partly in wood, with notes of balsam, mint, tobacco, toast and spice. For the Dolce Naturale it adds jam and dried figs.

The minimum alcohol by volume is 13.5% for the DOC, 14% for the Riserva and 16% total for the Dolce Naturale, at least 13% of it fermented and the rest left as sugar. The rules set no maximum. Because enrichment is banned, the alcohol comes from the sugar of the grapes alone.

The consortium says the Dolce Naturale is made from grapes that dry on the vine, losing about 50% of their water to the sun and the winds off the Ionian Sea, and not from grapes dried in drying rooms as for a passito. The DOCG rules allow both: drying on the vine and drying on racks or in crates.

Primitivo is also made under the Gioia del Colle DOC, near Bari, and under the broader Salento IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica, the regional tier below DOC). In the United States, the same grape is labeled Zinfandel. The Gioia del Colle column gives the rules for its Primitivo wine, and the Salento column the rules for a Salento red labeled Primitivo.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column

The consortium suggests these pairings:

• Primitivo di Manduria DOC: local dishes such as orecchiette in tomato sauce with cacioricotta cheese, meat ragù, fish soups made with tomato, and spiced Asian dishes.
• Primitivo di Manduria Riserva: game, roast meat and grilled meat.
• Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale: dry pastries, dark chocolate, blue cheeses and cheeses aged more than 36 months.

Is Primitivo the same as Zinfandel?

Yes, by DNA. A 2004 study treats Primitivo as a synonym of Zinfandel and matched the Croatian vine Crljenak kaštelanski to Zinfandel's DNA profile, and a 2011 study matched an old Croatian sample labeled Tribidrag to Zinfandel. US labeling rules still list Primitivo and Zinfandel as separate approved names.

Is Primitivo di Manduria sweet?

The DOC and the Riserva range from dry to medium dry and may hold up to 18 g/L of sugar. Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale DOCG is sweet, with at least 50 g/L.

How strong is Primitivo di Manduria?

The rules require at least 13.5% alcohol for the DOC and 14% for the Riserva, and 16% total alcohol for the Dolce Naturale, at least 13% of it fermented.

What is the difference between Primitivo di Manduria and the Riserva?

The Riserva needs 14% alcohol instead of 13.5%, and 24 months of aging, at least 9 of them in wood. It can be released 2 years after the March 31 following the harvest.

Is Primitivo di Manduria a DOC or a DOCG?

Both. The dry wine and the Riserva are DOC, approved in 1974. The sweet Dolce Naturale became a separate DOCG in 2011.

How long is Primitivo di Manduria aged?

The DOC can be released after March 31 following the harvest, and the Dolce Naturale from June 1 of the year after the harvest. The Riserva ages at least 24 months. The rules set minimum aging and give no drinking window.

What is the difference between Primitivo di Manduria and Primitivo Salento?

Primitivo di Manduria is a DOC from 18 towns in Taranto and Brindisi, with at least 13.5% alcohol. Salento IGT covers all of the provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto, with a 12% minimum for its red wines and a higher grape yield limit.

Where is Manduria?

Manduria is a town in the province of Taranto, in Puglia. The appellation named after it takes in 15 towns in that province and 3 in the province of Brindisi.

This Primitivo comes from southern Salento, outside the Primitivo di Manduria zone:

• Masserie Dugento Primitivo Salento Rosso 2022: 100% Primitivo from 25-year-old vines on red clay soils in the Masserie di Ugento cru, in southern Salento between Gallipoli and Leuca. It is fermented and aged only in stainless steel and bottled under the Salento appellation at 14.0% alcohol. Giordano Emo Capodilista and Francesco Marra founded the estate in 2005.

1. Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MASAF): Primitivo di Manduria DOC production rules
2. Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MASAF): Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale DOCG production rules
3. Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MASAF): Gioia del Colle DOC production rules
4. Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MASAF): Salento IGT production rules
5. Consorzio di Tutela del Primitivo di Manduria: history of the appellation
6. Consorzio di Tutela del Primitivo di Manduria: terroir and territory
7. Consorzio di Tutela del Primitivo di Manduria: wine and food pairings
8. Consorzio di Tutela del Primitivo di Manduria: brochure
9. Consorzio di Tutela del Primitivo di Manduria: press kit
10. Maletić E. et al. (2004), Zinfandel, Dobričić, and Plavac mali: the genetic relationship among three cultivars of the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 55:174-180
11. Malenica N. et al. (2011), Whole genome amplification and microsatellite genotyping of herbarium DNA revealed the identity of an ancient grapevine cultivar, Naturwissenschaften 98:763-772
12. US Code of Federal Regulations, 27 CFR 4.91: approved grape variety names
13. US Code of Federal Regulations, 27 CFR 4.23: varietal labeling
14. EU: Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Annex II (alcoholic strength definitions)
15. EU: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, Annex III (sugar content terms)