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Villa
Fanelli Primitivo Zeta, 2006
The Puglia district of southeast Italy is known for
outstanding values including Li Veli and Salice Salentino. Puglia is also the
home of Primitivo, a previously obscure grape until DNA studies showed that it
is nearly identical to Zinfandel whose origin was unknown. Investigators
initially thought that Puglia was the origin of Zinfandel, but further research
suggests that Primitivo and Zinfandel vines are both relatively recent arrivals
and clones of a Croatian grape called Crijenak Kastelanski. The Italians,
however, dispute this notion, claiming that Primitivo was already growing in
southern Italy during the classical Greek period. I’ve known Anthony Verdoni for over 25 years, first as a salesman for
what is now Opici Imports in Glen Rock, later as Opici’s Italian wine buyer,
and finally on his own since 1996 as an importer and distributor of Italian
wines. A former opera singer (tenor), Anthony is a gentleman in an industry that
doesn’t always reward the well-mannered. Anthony specializes in small,
family-owned Italian wineries that are committed to both quality and
value. He also works on special projects such as Villa Fanelli with enologist
Dr. Sabino Russo. Although the grapes for this wine are from Puglia, Russo makes
this wine at the Castellani family facility near Pisa. The Villa Puccini label
is another Verdoni/Russo project made at this facility.
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