The white wine variety with the sonorous double name has its origins in Andalusia and is now particularly widespread in Montilla-Moriles, Jerez and Malaga. There are two theories about the naming: on the one hand, it was named after the Jimenes square in Sanlucar de Barrameda; on the other hand, a regionally known winemaker named Xinimez gave the variety his name. Pedro Ximenez, often simply abbreviated as PX, was first mentioned in 1618. The variety may have originated from a table grape called Gibi, whose origin is believed to be in the Arab world. Characteristic of the PX is the uneven formation of the grapes, in which thicker and thinner berries are often placed together as well as uneven bunching of the berries. PX is extremely sensitive to black rot, sour rot and powdery mildew, but less so to downy mildew. Fungal diseases, the death of shoots and termites also affect it. Most of the very sugar-rich PX is made into sweet, fortified wines, mainly in Montilla-Moriles. To do this, the grapes are dried in the sun beforehand to further increase the sugar content and concentrate the aromas. In the Jerez area, fortified wines are also produced using this method, very often the sugar-rich must or the wine is used to sweeten cream sherry. The best PX wines are of very high quality and can be stored for decades. Small areas in Portugal also produce crops under the name Perrum, while in Chile there are around 3,000 hectares of PX, from which Pisco brandy is usually made. The variety was once popular in Australia for plain, dry wines, but today only a few winemakers cultivate this variety for the production of sherry-style wines.
This grape variety is also known by the name of:
Alamis
