Over the weekend I brought a bottle of our 2005 Primitivo to one of Santa Barbara’s oldest Italian restaurants, Arnoldi’s. All of my friends were busy chatting, but the focus immediately turned to the wine once everybody took their first sips. Declaring it a Santa Barbara Winery favorite took less than two minutes, but they all said they never would have bought it off the shelves of a store or in a winery without tasting it because of the fear of the unknown. All the more reason to taste obscure varietals, read wine education books, and ask your tasting room host or sommelier one question too many. You may be missing out on your favorite wine, and you don’t even know it.
Primitivo has recently been shown to be genetically identical to Zinfandel. Growing well in warmer climates, it has a more “sun kissed” quality than wines that come from cooler areas in Italy, such as Tuscany or Piedmont. 
Andrew Joughin’s Santa Ynez Joughin Vineyard has vines that have been grown from cuttings that originated in the cone-shaped Trullo house filled Puglia region in southeastern Italy. We source 100% of our Primitivo from Joughin, with 2006 being the sixth Primitivo crop.
Primitivo is dark red with bold fruity flavors and an intense essence of sweetness while being bone dry. It has a richness to it that really makes it stand out. While it’s DNA is the same as that of Zinfandel, there are not by any means the same wine. One main difference between the two grapes is that Zinfandel has a greater inherent acidity to it than Primitivo.
This wine is outstanding with Grilled Beef or Marinated Short Ribs. Pretty fantastic with Arnoldi’s New York Steak as well…
2006 Santa Barbara Winery Primitivo Joughin Vineyard $25
Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery
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