Description
The Genepì delle Alpi or Génépi des Alpes Geographical Indication is reserved for a liqueur with floral and vegetal aromas and a typical bitter flavour, obtained through the maceration, suspension or distillation of active ingredients from the following plant species: Artemisia mutellina Vell. or umbelliformis Lam. or Alpine wormwood; Artemisia genipi or spicata Weber or Black wormwood; Artemisia glacialis L. or Glacier wormwood, Artemisia nivalis Braum-Blanq or Snow wormwood.
Production Area
The production area of Genepì delle Alpi GI or Génépi des Alpes GI is within the Piedmont and Valle D’Aosta regions in Italy, and the departments of Alpes de Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes Maritimes, Drôme de l’Isere, Savoie, and Haute-Savoie in France. The wild harvest and cultivation of wormwood plants, and the production and bottling of the liqueur, can only take place in these areas. The plant harvesting and cultivation area is situated higher than 1500 metres a.s.l.
Production Method
It is now common practice to use other types of plants in addition to those belonging to the Artemisia species, in order to give the liqueur a more harmonious and persistent flavour. These plants are used to flavour and colour the liqueur, and are as follows: Angelica, Common Wormwood (A. vulgaris), Basil, Muskrat root, Cinnamon, Clove, Juniper, Hyssop, Lavender, Sweet Clover, Mint, Melissa, St. John’s Wort, Oregano, White Nettle, Scots Pine, Rosemary, Savory, Sage, Thyme, Elderflower, Wild Thyme, Verbena and Kidney Vetch. The flavours can be extracted in the following three ways, either separately or combined: – through maceration, by steeping the plants in a hydroalcoholic solution for a minimum period of 20 days for dried plants and 15 days for fresh plants. The wormwood plants must make up at least 85% of the weight of the plants used; – through suspension, by placing the dried plants on special grills suspended over the hydroalcoholic solution, in hermetically sealed containers where the alcohol-saturated headspace extracts the volatile compounds of the plants for at least 90 days. The wormwood plants must make up at least 85% of the weight of the plants used; – through the distillation of an infusion obtained from plants steeped in a hydroalcoholic solution. The wormwood plants must make up at least 50% of the weight of the plants used. The minimum amount of wormwood plants used to make the liqueur must be higher than 2 g of dried flower stems (without roots) per litre of finished product. Only the use of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin is permitted. The aromatic solution is added to a mixture of water, sugar and neutral ethyl alcohol to complete the liqueur.
Product Characteristics
Genepì delle Alpi GI or Génépi des Alpes GI must have the following characteristics: a minimum alcohol content of 30% ABV; the minimum amount of wormwood plants used to make the liqueur must be higher than 2 g of dried flower stems (without roots) per litre of finished product. The use of artificial colourings or flavours is not permitted during any stage of the production process.
Legislative information
The Genepì delle Alpi Geographical Indication is registered in Annex III of Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and protection of Geographical Indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1576/89 (published in the OJEU L. 39 of 13.02.2008), as modified by EC Reg. 1067/2016 and Reg. 674/2019. Notwithstanding the entry into force of the new EU Reg. 787/2019, which repeals Reg. 110/2008 and – as far as GIs are concerned – has been applied since 8 June 2019, Annex III will continue to apply until the creation of the GI Register referred to in art. 33 of the new regulation. Generally, article 24, paragraph 1 of Regulation 787/2019 states that for every single Geographical Indication a technical file containing the requirements set out in the same article must be presented to the European Commission. The technical file for Genepì delle Alpi GI is contained in the decree issued by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies on 24 November 2014 (published in the Italian Official Journal no. 281 of 03.12.2014).
