Pie di Palombo

General Characteristics

The ancient technical grape variety Pie di Palombo originates from Italy and is widely cultivated in the provinces of Naples, Caserta, Salerno, Avellino, and Benevento. The grape received its name, which translates as "pigeon's foot", due to the wine-red coloration of the ridges and pedicels that appears as the berries ripen. The grape variety Pie di Palombo is characterized by high vigor, stable bearing, and high quality of the resulting must. Budburst and flowering are early. The harvest period occurs in the medium term upon reaching full industrial maturity. The vine demonstrates high productivity and a stable volume of fruit. Clusters have a medium length and thickness, a conical shape, a semi-winged structure, and a medium or loose density due to natural shattering of ovaries. Berries are of medium size, with a regular rounded shape. The skin color is violet-black, and the surface is covered with a thick and abundant waxy coating. The berry pulp is meaty, the juice is clear, and the taste is simple and tart-vinous. Sugar accumulation of the berry juice averages 22.73% with a titratable acidity of 6.81 g/L. Each berry contains 2 to 3 seeds.

Morphological Description of the Grape Variety Pie di Palombo

• Mature cane (annual shoot): Thin or of medium thickness, characterized by weak ribbing, high hardness during pruning, and low elasticity. Internodes are of medium length. The color of the bark is uniform, dark yellowish. Buds are small, conical, slightly protruding above the shoot axis, with weak short pubescence.
• Young shoot: Spreading, with medium or weak branching. The herbaceous shoot is green, rounded, covered with sparse short hairs. The apex of the shoot has weak pubescence, and young leaves have a barely noticeable pinkish tint. Tendrils are thin, long, and bifid.
• Formed leaf: Has a medium size, with a flat and smooth blade surface. The structure is dense, soft to the touch. The color of the upper side of the leaf is intensely green, while the lower side is lighter and glabrous. The blade is divided into five regular lobes with obtuse apexes. The upper and lower lateral sinuses are shallow, narrow, elliptical in shape, and of a closed type. The petiolar sinus is open, rounded, formed by the basal lobes. The teeth along the leaf margins are small, sharp, with straight contours and a shallow step. The main veins are weakly prominent, with a pinkish tint in the central part. The leaf petiole is thick, pinkish in color, and almost equal in length to the median vein. Leaf fall in autumn occurs late.
• Inflorescence: Medium-sized, conical in shape. Before flowering begins, the cluster bud has no specific color or pronounced shape. The flower type is hermaphroditic.
• Cluster and berry pedicel: The central rachis of the cluster is strong, of medium length, and acquires a characteristic wine-pink color upon ripening. The peduncle is thick and rigid. Berry pedicels are short, thin, colored in intense red, without verrucose outgrowths. The cushion is small, and the brush is short with unpigmented fibers.

Vineyard Management and Viticultural Features

The technical grape variety Pie di Palombo possesses high ecological plasticity and easily adapts to various soil types. It develops successfully both on the poor sandy soils of Mount Vesuvius and on the dense limestone soils of the Subapennines. Bushes require training to high supports or trees up to three meters in height, preferring southern slope exposures. The crop load on the bush is regulated by medium pruning of the canes to 5–8 buds; long or excessively short pruning is not recommended. The grape variety Pie di Palombo has excellent compatibility and wide affinity with all common rootstocks of the region. The vine demonstrates high resistance to adverse weather factors, spring frosts, as well as to major fungal diseases. The dense structure of the berry skin provides the variety with full resistance to gray rot and berry cracking under conditions of increased autumn humidity.

Winemaking and Finished Product Characteristics

This grape is used exclusively for winemaking. Due to specific organoleptic properties, monovarietal wines are practically never made from Pie di Palombo; instead, it is used in blends with other local varieties. Its must serves as an important component for imparting high extract-richness, density, and a pronounced vinous character to the finished wines. The introduction of this base wine provides the finished product with a pleasant freshness and balanced acidity. The variety is legally integrated into the official varietal specifications of Italian controlled appellations of origin (DOC), including Sicilia, Etna, Campania, and Salerno. The grape juice has a high sugar content, which increases the final alcohol level of the blend. The finished aged wine possesses an intense color, good structure, and the capacity for long, harmonious development.

The high natural sugar content allows the grape juice of this variety to be used to increase the strength and correct the components of weaker white base wines.

VINEYARD Note: In most modern sources, the varieties Pie di Palombo and Piedirosso are presented as synonyms. However, according to the authoritative VIVC database, these varieties have different origins; consequently, they are registered under different codes. We rely on historical sources and modern DNA analysis data, therefore we present the varieties Pie di Palombo and Piedirosso as distinct.