A good number of delicious fortified and sweet wine styles are also made in the zone, although the dry Primitivo wines have caught the eye of export markets. The Gioia del Colle region further north has also shown great promise in recent years. Wine styles vary from producer to producer but Primitivo (often encountered in the Southern Italy section of your wine store) is generally dry. That being said, the often high levels of sunlight in its home regions mean the resulting wine often displays sweet fruit and jammy notes with higher levels of alcohol often adding to the perception of Primitivo ("pree-mee-TEE-vo") is one of the most popular red wines of Southern Italy. A structured and powerful, yet velvety wine that, despite its average high alcohol content, always manages to be extremely pleasant and drinkable. Primary Flavors Burnt toast Black pepper Spicy Burning rubber Black cherry Blackberry Plum Violet Grape Profile Primitivo is a rich, bold, full-bodied wine with intense flavors. And you can find dark fruit flavors of blackberries, cherries, raspberries, along with notes of raisin, earth, licorice, leather, and cinnamon spice. Plus, if aged in oak you can find hint of sweet tobacco with a rustic finish. Get to know Primitivo — a Southern Italian wine from Puglia known for its robust nature and excellent value — with this First-Taste Guide. Primitivo can be dry to sweet, is medium to full-bodied, has medium to high tannins, low to medium acidity, and has high alcohol It's cultivated across southern Italy with its spiritual home in Puglia. It's also widely planted in Croatia (where it's known as Tribidrag and Crljenak Kasteljanski) and in California where it's known as Zinfandel Primitivo is a dark and tannic wine that smells and tastes of flowers, fruit, pepper, and blackberries. Zinfandel contains flavors of berry, cherry, blackberry, anise, and black pepper. California winemakers let Zinfandel grapes ripen until they have a lot of sugar, which gives the wine more alcohol. Contents What does Primivo wine taste like? Origins of Primitivo and Zinfandel Puglia: home of the best Italian Primitivo wine How the landscape of Puglia affects Primitivo Soil types found in Puglia The rising trend for quality wine production Primitivo production areas DOC and DOCG winemaking areas Salento IGT winemaking area ). Since wine ranges in sweetness, you have to do some research to figure out the actual residual sugar in a specific bottle. You can use wine tech sheets to find the exact number. (So useful!) When reading a tech sheet: Below 1% sweetness, wines are considered dry. Above 3% sweetness, wines taste "off-dry," or semi-sweet. Is Primitivo dry or sweet? Primitivo is a red wine grape variety that is grown in Puglia, Italy. The primitive profile can range between dry, semi-dry, and sweet dry. How long can you age Primitivo? Primitivo should be consumed after 5-6 years when it is at its best. From certain producers, it improves after 10-15 years. i4pOO.