Primitivo di Manduria is a heavy, blunt red wine, an effect of the warm growing conditions in Southern Italy’s Apulia region. It is made from the locally grown Primitivo grape (also known as Zinfandel).

Along with the Castel del Monte DOP in northern Puglia and the Salice Salentino DOP in the south, the Primitivo di Manduria DOP is one of Puglia’s best-known denominations world-wide. The denomination wine is produced in the heart of Puglia’s Magna Grecia region, in various communes in the province of Taranto, among them the best-known town, Manduria, which gave its name to the entire denomination. While some claim that the Primitivo grape is originated in ancient Greece and been brought over by some of the first settlers of the Italian peninsula, recent research based upon DNA has shown it to be genetically identical to a Croatian varietal.