Génépi
Encyclopedia
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) is a liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
or aperitif
Aperitif
Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...
, similar in makeup to absinthe
Absinthe
Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel...
; Chartreuse
Chartreuse
Chartreuse may refer to:* Chartreuse * Chartreuse * Chartreuse Mountains, France* Grande Chartreuse, a monastery in the Chartreuse Mountains** Any Carthusian monastery, in the French language...
is an augmented form of génépi concocted in the early 18th century. The word is also used to refer to alpine plants of the genus Artemisia (commonly called wormwood) that provide the liqueur's flavor, color and effect.
Capitalized, Genepi can also refer to the region in Franco-Italic Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
adjacent to the Aosta Valley where the plants grow and where the beverage originated, as well as a mountain, a town, a stream and numerous other features in that region.
Like many European herbal liqueurs, especially those used as digestifs
Apéritif and digestif
Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...
, génépi can be an acquired taste. It is less sweet than many digestifs, and the flavor imparted by the herbs is reminiscent of chamomile
Chamomile
Chamomile or camomile is a common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. These plants are best known for their ability to be made into an infusion which is commonly used to help with sleep and is often served with either honey or lemon. Because chamomile can cause uterine...
or feverfew
Feverfew
Feverfew is a traditional medicinal herb which is found in many old gardens, and is also occasionally grown for ornament. The plant grows into a small bush up to around high, with citrus-scented leaves and is covered by flowers reminiscent of daisies...
. It is naturally pale gold in color, but some varieties have a final maceration of the wormwood which yields a light green color. A few commercial products are made bright green through the addition of food coloring
Food coloring
Food coloring is a substance, liquid or powder, that is added to food or drink to change its color. Food coloring is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking...
.
Because génépi is produced by steeping the aromatic wormwood flower heads in a strong, clear alcohol such as vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
or pure grain alcohol, it cannot be considered an equivalent to Spanish aguardiente
Aguardiente
Aguardiente , aiguardent , aguardente , and augardente are generic terms for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume...
, French eau-de-vie or German Branntwein because all of these require their plant ingredients and flavorings be distilled with the alcohol, or, in a few cases, fermented. Further separating it is its added sugar content, which clearly marks it as liqueur rather than spirits
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
.
Etymology
The word génépi has uncertain etymological origins, but it is strongly associated with the SavoySavoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
region. The Petit Larousse Illustré says that génépi "is the generic name of different aromatic plants typical of the Alps". Zingarelli defines the term "genepí" by distinguishing between two meanings. The first refers to the plant, an unspecified member of the Artemisia genus, while the second refers to the beverage resulting from it and from other Alpine plants. The Enciclopedia Espasa contends that "genippi" is the native Alpine
Franco-Provençal language
Franco-Provençal , Arpitan, or Romand is a Romance language with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from Langue d'Oïl and Langue d'Oc. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G.I...
word for a particular group of plants of the genus Artemisia and lists their names and characteristics.
French writers distinguish between two kinds of génépi: white or female génépi (botanically A. rupestris, formerly known as A. umbeliformis Vill., A. laxa Lamarck and A. eriantha Tem., among others) and black or male génépi (botanically A. genipi, also known as A. spicata (Baumg.) Wulfen ex Jacq. and A. rupestris Vill., among others).
Geographical origins
The wormwoods known as génépi are endemic to the AlpsAlps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, but can also be found in the Apennines and other mountainous regions in the western and central north Mediterranean. However, in the strictest sense the name génépi applies only to those members of the genus Artemisia growing in the Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
region known as Genepi. While the name clearly reflects a geographical origin, the European Union does not protect French génépi liqueur under its Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
system. Instead, as of 2008, while génépi is recognized as a category of spirit to be regulated by the EU, only génépi of Italian origin (from Val d’Aosta and Piemonte
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
) is protected.. Under the EU legislation, the name génépi is limited in use to those Italian products, but unlike under systems of appellation
Appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
, there are few regulations or limitations on how the product is produced or what ingredients are used in making it. A beverage may be labelled and sold as génépi only if it complies with general EU requirements for liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
, such as a minimum sugar content (expressed as invert sugar) of 100 grams per litre.
As of 2011 it does not appear that the French AOC system
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
recognizes génépi from Savoy or anywhere else.
Raw material
For making génépi liqueur, three species of Artemisia (the genus of the wormwoods) are particularly valued: A. rupestris (white génépi or rock wormwood), A. genipi (black génépi) and A. umbelliformis (sometimes called yellow génépi). The botanical identification of the plants traditionally collected for use in making génépi liqueur is complicated by significant reclassification work in the genus ArtemisiaArtemisia
- Botany :* Artemisia , a genus of plants including the sagebrush and wormwood- Geography :* Artemisia Geyser in Yellowstone National Park* Artemissia, Messinia, a Greek village west of Taygetus mountain in the Peloponnese...
, spurred by advances in molecular assay
Sequencing
In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure of an unbranched biopolymer...
and cladistics
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
, that has resulted in the obsolescence of names used in older literature. It is likely that a wide range of wormwoods native to the mountainous areas of Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy have been used to make the liqueur, with personal taste, tradition and availability shaping the selection. Other species known to have been used at one time or another in producing génépi are A. glacialis, A. pontica and A. borealis
Artemisia borealis
Artemisia borealis is a plant of the genus Artemisia. Some common names are: boreal sage, boreal wormwood, boreal sagewort; Fr: armoise boréale, armoise septentrionale....
. Flowers of "Alsem der Alpen", the botanically related Achillea erba-rotta subsp. moschata
Achillea erba-rotta
Achillea erba-rotta, common name Simple Leaved Milfoil, is a perennial flowering plant of the genus Achillea, belonging to the Asteraceae family.-Description:...
known in English as musk milfoil, are sometimes added or used to substitute entirely for one or more of the génépi species. Collectively, these various Alpine plants that blossom at high altitudes during July and August are known in German as “Edelraute”.
Génépi at home
Génépi can be made at home through the simple addition of prepared herbs to vodka or grain alcohol. The chopped, dried wormwood flowers are sold in southwestern Europe in small sachets similar to tea bags. Home-brewing instructions, as well as ingredients, can be found online. For the more adventurous, the flowers and herbs can be harvested in July and August. After drying and chopping, the herbal mass can be enclosed in cheesecloth for steeping. Each Alpine mountaineer has a recipe for génépi, but a generic recipe for a liter would require forty flowers and forty grams of sugar to be added to 40% alcohol by volume.Commercial génépi
There have been a number of famous liqueurs that resembled génépi or shared significant ingredients with it. The most famous, created in the early 1700s by CarthusianCarthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monks in the mountains beyond Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, is Chartreuse
Chartreuse (liqueur)
Chartreuse is a French liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks since the 1740s. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbal extracts. The liqueur is named after the Monks' Grande Chartreuse monastery, located in the Chartreuse Mountains in the general region of Grenoble in France...
. The worldwide product as we know it today (through brands such as Grande Chartreuse and A.T.C. Chartreuse) is considerably more complex than traditional génépi, but its foundation flavor clearly comes the same aromatic plant. On the other extreme, small producers throughout the Savoy have occasionally bottled and made available their local product, and many restaurateurs in the Savoy produce and sell their own.
Widely available varieties include Amaro centerbe (30% vol.), Alpestre (38% vol.), Millefiori (38% vol.), Trisulti brandy (45% vol) and Vegetale (38% vol.). Other génépi brands include Fiori Alpini and Alpenkraeuter. Génépi des Alpes purports to be based only on the wormwood colloquially known as "mutellina" (today known botanically as A. umbelliformis). Another elixir, Bahathier, represents itself as being composed of seven herbs and flowers, although none are dientified.
A génépi-like product called Izarra (Star) is typical of Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
in the Basque Country along the border of France and Spain. Representative of the far western edge of the génépi tradition, it is available in both green and yellow versions.
For the most part, there are myriad brands of the liqueur available, many simply labeled "génépi", though sometimes accompanied by the legend “Fleurs des Alpes”. The drink continues to evolve, though. Bernard & C., a firm based in Val Germanasca in the middle of the Alps, is producing Génépi blanc, the first commercial génépi that is clear rather than yellow or green. It is supposed to be based only on the "spicata" variety of wormwood (today classified as Artemisia genipi. In 2000 a liqueur branded as Génépi des Pères Chartreux premiered, based on neutral spirits instead of the nearly universal “eau-de-vie”. The goal is to provide a "cleaner" drinking experience, but opinions differ as to whether the difference is even perceptible.
The traditional génépi from the Province of Cuneo
Province of Cuneo
ayr is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ....
has been selected by the Italian Slow Food
Slow Food
Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of...
Foundation as an Ark of Taste
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of heritage foods in danger of extinction which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ecoregion...
product.
External links
- The Génépy at the Valle d'Aosta official tourism website
- Recipes from the Alps: Génépy, website of the Académie de Grenoble (Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) - Bonjour Paris: Génépi]
- Article on Génépi in French Wikipedia