Description
The Liquore di Limone di Sorrento Geographical Indication is reserved for the liqueur obtained through the cold maceration in alcohol of agricultural origin of lemon peels from the Limone di Sorrento PGI lemon, which belongs to the Ovale di Sorrento ecotype – also known as Limone di Massalubrense or Massese – of the variety Femminello Ovale (Citrus limon L., Burm.).
Production Area
The production area of Liquore di Limone di Sorrento GI is within the territory of the following municipalities: Vico Equense, Meta, Piano di Sorrento, Sant’Agnello, Sorrento, Massa Lubrense, Capri and Anacapri, in the Campania region. All the stages of the production process must take place within the above-mentioned geographical areas, except for the bottling which can take place anywhere in Italy.
Production Method
The lemons used to make Liquore di Limone di Sorrento GI are either hand or machine-peeled, taking care to remove - as far as possible - just the flavedo. The infusion is made by soaking the fresh, frozen or deep-frozen peels in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, in stainless steel recipients, for no less than 48 hours. The infusion can then be filtered once or several times. The liqueur is obtained by mixing the correct quantities of water and sugar, or previously-made sugar syrup, into the Limone di Sorrento PGI peel and ethyl alcohol infusion, so as to obtain the final alcohol percentage. It is mandatory for each litre of liqueur to contain the quantity of peels taken from at least 250 g of whole lemons. The liqueur can be filtered once or several times and be homogenized if required, and is produced, mixed and stored in stainless steel tanks. It is subject to natural clarification over time. Liquore di Limone di Sorrento GI can only be bottled in glass recipients.
Product Characteristics
The Liquore di Limone di Sorrento GI is obtained through the cold maceration in alcohol of lemon peels from the Limone di Sorrento PGI lemon, which belongs to the Ovale di Sorrento ecotype. The alcohol content is no lower than 30% ABV, while the sugar concentration (total sugars expressed as invert sugar) is between 200 g/litre and 350 g/litre. The minimum weight ratio must be the same as the quantity of peels obtained from at least 250 g of the whole Limone di Sorrento PGI lemon per litre of liqueur, which is guaranteed and listed among the ingredients on the label. As Limone di Sorrento PGI is the only ingredient that characterises the aroma and colour of the product, the addition of additives, colourings, emulsifiers, stabilisers and flavourings is prohibited, with the exception of ascorbic acid (E 300), an antioxidant, the quantity of which must not exceed the maximum permitted by law.
Link with the territory
Liquore di Limone di Sorrento GI is one of the production area’s traditional products par excellence. For centuries it was made just for family consumption, only becoming a successful product on the market in recent years.
Legislative information
The Liquore di Limone di Sorrento 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 Liquore di Limone di Sorrento GI is contained in decree no. 967 issued by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies on 12 November 2012, as modified by the decree of 8 June 2016 (published in the Italian Official Journal no. 139 of 16.06.2016).
