The Prünent is a grape variety with black berries, a biotype of Nebbiolo. It is native to the Val d’Ossola; indeed, it is used to produce the DOC Valli Ossolane Nebbiolo wine.
A look at the origins of Prünent
The name “Prünent” derives from the Latin “pruina” (frost), thus referring to the harvest period (late October-November), when the ground is still covered in frost in the morning. The word may also originate from “prunum” (plum tree), as it was traditional to grow vines (trained to trees) alongside wild plum trees.
This is a very ancient grape variety: it is mentioned in a document dated 18 May 1309, the will in which Dumino, son of the late Vicino di Pello of Trontano, drawn up before the notary Pietro di Masera, left an annual and perpetual donation of nine staia of wine (around 200 litres) to the convent of San Francesco in Domodossola. The testator specified that the wine had to be «totum pruynentum» — entirely Prünent, in the Latinised form of the name — and used exclusively for the celebration of Mass: this is one of the earliest written records ever of the name of this wine.
In the past, Prünent was a fine perpetual wine, meaning that it was aged in a single barrel, known and appreciated even beyond the borders of Ossola. During the second half of the 19th century, with the arrival of steamships from the Americas came phylloxera, which destroyed vineyards throughout Europe. Thanks to the use of grafted vine cuttings on American rootstock, many varieties were saved.
In Ossola, thanks to its unique climate and sandy soils, it is still possible to find ungrafted centenarian vines that survived phylloxera and are still producing today.
Prünent today
Since 1990, APAO (the association of Ossola agricultural producers) has been committed to the revival of this ancient grape variety: wineries have succeeded in producing a wine of quality and structure, appreciated by critics, which competes on equal terms with the other great Piedmontese Nebbiolos.
Prünent has historically been cultivated on the sunny hills of Domodossola, Villadossola, Trontano, Masera and Montecrestese.
How is Prünent Stella produced?
This grape variety requires soil that is not damp and good exposure to sunlight. When cultivated using Guyot training, budburst is early and its fertility is medium-low, thus ensuring production of excellent quality.
The harvest takes place in late September/mid-October. Fermentation lasts around one month and steel tanks are used, where the wine is kept until spring before being aged in barrels of French oak for at least one year. Bottle ageing, on the other hand, lasts a few months.
The typical characteristics of Prünent are due to many factors, one of which worth highlighting is the significant temperature range between day and night: intense ruby red, full-bodied and tannic, alcoholic with floral notes. It pairs perfectly with risottos, game and flavourful cheeses.
Discover Prünent Stella 2018 from Azienda Agricola Edoardo Patrone, awarded as one of Italy’s 100 best wines by Golosaria:
The ampelographic characteristics of Prünent
From an ampelographic perspective, Prünent shares with Nebbiolo clusters that are not overly compact and thin-skinned berries, characteristics that make it sensitive to climatic conditions while capable of expressing complex aromas. Centuries of adaptation to the Ossola terraces have made it a resilient grape variety, able to ripen properly even at the altitudes and exposures typical of the Val d’Ossola, very different from those of the Langhe, where Nebbiolo finds its most celebrated expression.
Knowing these characteristics also helps to better understand what to expect when tasting it: a wine that tells, glass after glass, the story of an ancient grape variety’s adaptation to a mountain territory that is anything but easy to cultivate.
Further reading
To find out more about the territory of Prünent: the Valli Ossolane DOC, the history of Ossola wine, local production figures.
