Primitivo comes from the Balkans and is, by DNA, essentially the same grape as Zinfandel, though California treats the two names as separate plantings. Its rise in the state's numbers is recent and sharp: bearing acreage was just 65 acres in 2000 and has grown to 1,450 acres in the latest report, spread across 28 counties, evidence of growers deliberately planting it as its own labeled variety rather than folding it into Zinfandel. It is made in a similar style to Zinfandel: a ripe, dark-fruited red, sometimes leaner and more structured.
What kind of grape this is
- Species
- VITIS VINIFERA LINNÉ SUBSP. SATIVA (DE CANDOLLE) HEGI
- Berry color
- NOIR
- Country of origin
- BALKAN
- Synonyms
- 64
- Approved on a US label
- Primitivo
- FPS selections
- 3
names this grape is known by elsewhere, per VIVC
the names TTB permits on a bottle
distinct clones and selections held at UC Davis
Registries
What is published
Counts describe what this atlas holds for Primitivo, not what California grows. A zero is a published answer: it means the source names the grape and reports nothing under it, or does not name it at all.
- 462
county-years of acreage
28 counties, 1,450 bearing acres in 2025
- 366
district-years of crush
17 of 17 crush districts, 26 crop years
- 366
district-years of Brix
tonnage-weighted at the crusher, Crush Report Table 3
- 4
producers in this atlas
producers whose curated wine list names it — a curated roster of 2,772 producers, not a census of California
- —
regions with a maturity date
not one of the eight cultivars with a
Acreage in California
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Counties and concentration
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Where it is planted
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Share of each county's vineyard
Reported by county — never by AVA
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The counties
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Tonnage and price by district
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
All 17 districts on one axis →
loading crush report…
Brix at the crusher
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
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Growers in this atlas's roster
- Alexander Valley Vineyardsbottled
Winery · Alexander School Reserve Primitivo
- Native Bloom Winerybottled
Winery · Zee Rosso Bubbles
- Bella Amicalisted
Brand · Primitivo
- Jaxon Keyslisted
Brand · Primitivo
4 of this atlas’s 2772 curated producers, 2 of them with a named wine in the atlas made from it. A roster is not a census — this is who the atlas has entered, not who grows the grape in California.