Pasta again?

[mrdutton]

What to the folks at UC Davis say about that?
Has there been any DNA testing?


I paid a visit to the database at Strats Place. Here is what Anthony Hawkins has to say about Zinfandel:

ZINFANDEL:
An important grape variety, also thought to be the variety once known as Black St. Peter in early 19th century California lore, currently grown in California and used to produce robust red wine as well as very popular "blush wines" called "white Zinfandel". The oldest vines found in the Dry Creek and Amador regions are notable for their ability to produce superior juice; eg. the "Bevill-Mazzoni" clone from the Dry Creek appellation was recently reported (7/2000) as yielding excellent results even as a young vine. Zinfandel is noted for the fruit-laden, berry-like aroma and prickly taste characteristics in its red version and pleasant strawberry reminders when made into a "blush" wine. While its origins are not clear it has been positively identified, via DNA analysis at UC Davis (California), as the Primitivo (di Gioia), a variety grown in Apulia, southern Italy. According to an Italian report of 1996 the latter variety may have a relationship to members of the Vranac variety cépage grown in Montenegro, the state that, combined with Serbia, constitutes what remains of the former Yugoslavia. Other contenders were certain mutated members of the Mali Plavac, (a.k.a Plavac Mali), cépage varieties which are mainly grown in the coastal area known as Dalmatia, a province of Croatia recently a part of the former Yugoslavia and located just across the Adriatic sea from the shores of Italian Apulia. Research is presently (7/98) underway to explore possible relationships. The origin of the grapename "Zinfandel" in California is currently not known but is thought by some to be a corruption of Zierfandler, a completely unrelated white variety still grown in the Balkan region of Europe. It has been noted that mid-19th century catalogs mention a red (ie. "roter") mutation of that variety. A plausible hypothesis is that a naming error arose due to attribution and shipping mistakes made during unreliable early-19th century transport and handling to New World destinations.

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 01-14-2001).]