Genepì of the Aosta Valley
Genepì is a plant that grows spontaneously in the mountains above 2000 metres of altitude. It belongs to the Artemisia genus which includes over 200 species of plants. It is aromatic and its digestive properties are well-known because of the famous liqueur.
Genepì is today classified as a protected species and therefore picking is limited and monitored.
Following the problems related to picking spontaneously growing genepì and the need to supply the increasing demand of the herb by liqueur makers, some mountain farmers started growing genepì and have since acquired remarkable skills in a difficult cultivation that takes time and years of commitment.
With this plant the famous genepì liqueur is obtained, made either in a homemade version, with the limited collection of high mountain wild plants or at a company level, with cultivated plants.
The Genepì of Valle d'Aosta obtained the recognition of the Geographical Indication (GI) from the Italian Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies in 2015.
The collected flowers must be dried, traditionally in ventilated rooms, for a fortnight. The dried plants are then placed in alcohol infusion for about a month. After this, a water and sugar syrup is added and the mixture is left to stand. It is then filtered. The resulting liqueur has variable colour spanning from light green to amber, and an alcohol content from 30° to 40°.
In addition to being drunk as digestive liqueur, genepì is used to flavour some confectionery products, sweets and chocolates.