It’s a niche liquor, with a yellowish-green colour and with a strong herbal aroma and a bitter aftertaste to balance the sweetness obtained from the maceration in alcohol of Artemisia, an Alpine herb growing in the Western Alps.
It’s one of the symbol of Aosta Valley region, even though the majority of the producers are in Piedmont region.
The herb was declared a protected species in 1928, so its picking is restricted and controlled by the law.
However, in the Seventies someone started to grow it and now the number of farmers who decided to challenge the many difficulties posed by the cultivation of Artemisia increased. As a matter of fact this herb grows spontaneously 2000 mt above sea level and higher, but below this height the herb is very delicate.
The best way to taste Genepy is in a hut where people, after a walk in the forests and mountain trails, tired and looking for a rest, eat polenta and fontina for lunch and, why not, a shot of genepy with the expresso.
The Genepy liquor
