This past week Joy and I were fortunate to find two seats at one of Charleston’s most noted restaurants, the Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island. Noted for combining unique flavors with fascinating presentations, the small but well-staffed eatery offers a limited but very interesting wine list. Most of the wines are available by the glass.

I choose a Primitivo Antico Sigillo 2016 to enjoy with the Obstinate Daughter’s baked oyster special (lightly seasoned).

Thus, it seems like the right time to talk about a wine/grape that is both an ideal pairing with food and is price friendly (should be under $20).

Primitivo has been the subject of substantial study by oenologists. In the 1990s there was DNA evidence that linked Italian (Puglia) Primitivo and California Zinfandel. Apparently, there is a real DNA link between Primitivo and Zinfandel. However, rather than being ‘two peas in a pod’ the two grapes are clones of a Croatian grape Crjenak Kastelanski. Primitivo and Zinfandel are, in reality, cousins.

The Crjenak Kastelanski is the basis of fruit-forward and spicy wines…sound familiar…could be a description of both Primitivo and Zinfandel. Both Primitivo and Zinfandel are prodigious producers and ripen early. And, like their Croatian relative you will find both sweet pepper and sweet spice on the nose. They both produce wines that are ready to consume young with an excellent balance between tannin and fruit. These are wines that are not vinified with the intention of long-term aging.

They are, however, distinctly unique grapes. They grow in different climates, and, interestingly, they produce wines that far too many wine drinkers choose to ignore. But both are dark-skinned grapes that produce inky and deeply flavored wine. A dark and deeply flavored wine should be enough to drive customers to Primitivo and Zinfandel. Unfortunately, ‘red’ Zinfandel is too often confused with the ‘white’ version, and Primitivo is often viewed as another confusing and expensive European grape.  

Most Primitivo is oak barrel aged (generally for less than a year), and the result is a fresh wine with depth and character.

Be sure to look for the 2016 Puglia Primitivo. The 2016 vintage was a challenge for Italian winemakers. Risk of too much and too little rain as well as frost both during bud break and early growth negatively impacted winemakers in the central part of Italy. Puglia was fortunate. The weather issues that impacted both Abruzzo and Campania struggled, but the temperatures were moderate and the skies clear. The moderate temperatures will keep alcohol down. Recent vintages of Primitivo have been bottled above 16% (like many Zinfandels). Lower alcohol by volume allows for more elegant and food friendly wines.

Let’s talk price. The 2016 Primitivo Antico Sigillo can be purchased for less than $15. Unfortunately, the only place that the $15 price was advertised was in Colorado. Checking the websites of my favorite wine outlets, I could not uncover any Antico Sigillo. Fortunately, I could find many 2016 Primitivos currently in the market.

You may have difficulty tracking down a bottle of the 2016 Antico Sigillo Primitivo, but there are many other 2014-2016 Puglia Primitivo that will serve you equally well. The Sigillo does appear on the front-page website image at Bottles in Mt. Pleasant…thus we could assume that they carry the wine.  Talk with your favorite wine merchant for their favorites. Good luck and good drinking…