"Genepì del Piemonte" Geographical Indication liquor is made from the extraction of the active ingredients of plants belonging to the Artemisia genipi Weber, A. mutellina Vill., A. glacialis L., A. nivalis Br.-Bl., A. petrosa Jan. species, by infusing or suspending the plants themselves in a hydroalcoholic solution. Only artemisia picked from spontaneous plants and/or cultivations found in the identified production area is used.
Production Area
All over Piedmont
How it is made
Liquor obtained by infusion is made by placing dried plants in stainless steel containers filled with a hydroalcoholic solution with an alcohol content between 70 and 90 °C and leaving them to infuse for between 30 and 60 days for static extraction.
Following extraction, the infusion is pressed and - after a possible period of aging - added to a mixture of water and sugar to obtain the finished liquor. Sometimes, a part of the infusion is distilled in steam distillers and added during preparation of the liquor. If necessary, ethanol can be added to adjust the alcohol content. Afterwards, the Genepì is left to rest after which the sedimented insoluble parts are filtered off, leaving a transparent or bright product.
In "suspension", the liquor is prepared with dried plants that are placed on special grills suspended over the hydroalcoholic solution in hermetically closed containers allowing the alcohol-saturated air to extract the more volatile components of the plants. This procedure lasts around 90 days.
After suspension, the liquor is prepared in the same way as described above using the extractive mixture; the finished liquor is left to age in the bottle for 100-150. This procedure leaves a colourless liquor.
History
Historically, the officinal artemisia plant was used as a widespread therapeutic method for many inflammatory and digestive conditions by the peoples of the western Alps, and in particular in the territory known as "Occitania".
In the second half of the 18th century, in Fenestrelle, the royal notary Stefano Pin first introduced distillation and the still to the Piedmont Occitane Valleys, and his son Stefano Giuseppe, taking advantage of his studies, established genepì production, describing in detail the production systems used in a recipe book dated 1823.
Over the centuries, more and more factories started turning herbs into liquors; the first cultivations of artemisia started around the mid-1900s as a result of this exponential growth and in order to deal with the consequent growth in demand for the ingredients.
In 2000 Piedmont started to act to protect and valorise the cultivation of artemisia, in order to define the best cultivation techniques and evaluate the possibility of expanding cultivation.
Interesting features
Artemisia species are normally spontaneous plants that are picked, with the exception of A. mutellina which can be cultivated. This type was selected and studied at the University of Turin which discovered that the ecotypes (plants) linked to the Piedmont territory are chemically and morphologically different from those originating elsewhere.
Labelling
Genepì del Piemonte liquor can be sold at the following conditions:
- the liquor must be sold in colourless glass bottles or bottles that allow the consumer to see the natural colour of the product, in the range of volumes permitted;
- the packaging or labels must display the indications provided by legislative decree number 109 dated 27th January 1992 and all subsequent modifications regarding packaged goods.
In all cases the labelling must include the following information: name, business name and address or the packaging company or manufacturer.
