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Primitivo,

Primitivo, Late Harvest Wine Details
Price: $40.00 per bottle

Description: We’ve made roughly 250 wines over Salamandre’s 21 years, and this is my favorite of them all. The 2003 Primitivo was harvested late and very sweet. The natural fermentation tried valiantly but surrendered with 7% sugar remaining in the wine. We treated it like Port over 2 years in the barrel, and it’s finally time to greet the world. It fills the room with jubilant fruitiness when someone pulls the cork. Serve this glass full of hedonism only to someone you love. Fashion your own dessert.

Varietal Definition
Primitivo:
Recent "DNA" testing has shown Primitivo to possess the exact same genetic make up as the popular California grape, Zinfandel. Both varieties origins are tracked back to Croatia. And while the grapes may be identical in theory, the wines they produce have distinct differences. Primitivo's home province is Apuglia (sometimes called Puglia), located in the "heel" of Italy's boot. Wines made from Primitivo have notes of plum and spice, like Zinfandel, but because of different growing soils and climate, the fruit character is less jammy, the structure more akin to old world wines, with rustic notes of earth and spice, as well as tamed fruit flavors.
Valiant:
This red wine producing grape, reportedly cold-hardy to -70 F (approx. -52 C), has lived up to its name in some harsh winter conditions. Valiant is grown in South Dakota, Minnesota, and other parts of the continental Midwest. Valiant is also grown in the Canadian prairie provinces, where reportedly it does not require protection from the elements, wintering above ground instead of the usual 'hilling-up' required for most varieties subjected to similar conditions. The vine was developed by Dr. Ron Peterson at South Dakota State University from a Fredonia x Wild Montana (Vitis riparia) cross. It is mostly used in blends, but is also made into jelly, and consumed as a table grape. Ripening about three weeks prior to Concord, it typically produces grapes with low acid levels and high sugars.


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