Pugnitello

This red grape variety comes from Italy. The name is derived from the shape of the grapes, which resemble a small fist (pugno = fist). According to Wine Grapes, DNA analyses carried out in 2008 prove its independence. However, it is identical to the Montepulciano variety (personal information from Dr. Erika Maul of the JKI). In Italy, in any case, both are listed as independent varieties. It must not be confused with the variety Perricone (with synonym Pignatello). The early-ripening, low-yielding vine with thick-skinned berries produces full-bodied, dark-coloured red wines with soft tannins and, with appropriate ageing, ageing potential. In the early 1990s, the almost extinct vine was revived by winemaker Leonardo Bellaccini in the municipality of San Felice in the south of the Chianti Classico region. It was one of several old vines planted on experimental plots in Tuscany as part of a project supported by the University of Florence with the aim of saving native plants. In 2003, the first wine from it was marketed. It is authorised in the DOC area of Valdarno di Sopra. In 2016, 15 hectares were designated (Kym Anderson statistics).

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Pugnitello

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