For a long period of time, Prokupac has been the most common grape variety in the vineyards of Serbia. Numerous synonyms testify to the prevalence of this variety. The name Prokupac itself originates from Toplica region in South Serbia, because the town of Prokuplje and Prokupac were named after Saint Procopius, the Patron Saint of the town of Prokuplje. Historical sources testify that the Christian population in Prokuplje owned more than 2,000 hectares of vineyards surrounding the city of Prokuplje, and the wine obtained from those vineyards was called "prokupačko crno" or just "Prokupac".
In Župa (region in South Serbia surrounding the town of Aleksandrovac), Prokupac was known as Rskavac, and the name itself indicated the thick skin of the berry, because a characteristic "crunchy" ("hrskav" in Serbian) sound was created during the bite. Thanks to Župa and its winemakers, Prokupac has been preserved to this day. And Župa remains the kingdom of Prokupac, where we can still find numerous old vineyards of Prokupac, some more than 100 years old.
In central Serbia, Prokupac was mostly planted in vineyards together with Skadarka, and such a vineyard blend was called "Šumadijski sad". In Šumadija, the usual name of the variety was Kameničarka, and it is assumed that the name came from the village of Kamenica near Kragujevac, which in the past was covered with Prokupac vineyards.
In the period prior to phylloxera, Prokupac had an excellent reputation and the best wines in Serbia were made from Prokupac grapes. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, the industrial production of wine came into focus, which turned Prokupac into an "ugly duckling" of the Serbian wine industry, destined for the mass production of cheap wines. As a result, the reputation of the variety gradually deteriorated. To some extent, the reputation of Ružica, a traditional darker-coloured rosé wine made from Prokupac managed to survive, but to a large extent owing to the practice of producing rosé spritzer wine in those days.
Only at the end of the 20th century, Prokupac again came into the hands of new generation of winemakers who believe that it can be used for production of top quality wines that Serbia can feel proud of. Special attention is paid to the old vineyards. Prokupac is increasingly planted in the vineyards of Serbia, this time taking into account modern knowledge in viticulture. Prokupac remained the same, but our attitude towards it has changed. As a result, we have now top quality Prokupac wines which win numerous medals and awards at the most important international wine competitions.
