Limoncello’s strict appellation rules are a key to its quality in Sorrento.
While Limoncello may have a limited following in the UK, where it is mainly drunk in Italian restaurants as a post-dinner liqueur, its biggest and most prestigious producer in the Sorrento appellation, Villa Massa, is planning to export to British shores for the first time by the end of the year.
Stefano Massa, co-owner of Villa Massa
With a focus on super-premium examples of the drink, the company is looking for a distributor and will target the on-trade.
Villa Massa, which was set up 25 years ago by two brothers, Sergio and Stefano Massa, already exports to 52 other markets. Quite why the UK has never been one of them is unclear, but that is about to change.
So too should the British notion of how and when Limoncello should be consumed, for the Italians like nothing better than to drink it with tonic water as a pre-lunch or pre-dinner aperitif.
As your correspondent found on a trip to Sorrento last month, this mixture is highly refreshing, and a good way of counter-acting the liqueur’s whopping residual sugar – all 250 g/l of it.
Production of Limoncello in Italy is nationwide, with entry-level and mid-market quality rife, but examples from Sorrento are among the very best.
The appellation has strict rules governing production, with the artificial flavouring and colouring employed by industrial producers being prohibited.
Other stipulations include: a minimum of 4m between each tree; a 50-kg maximum yield per tree; hand-harvesting of fruit (with none permitted in November or December); and at no time must fruit touch the ground. In addition, vertical windbreaks are employed to protect against Northerlies, as is trellising to reduce the intensity of the sunlight.
The key to good Limoncello is the quality of the lemons, which are unusually big (they must weigh a minimum of 85g, with the heaviest reaching 300g).
“Sorrento lemons have more acidity and juice than those of Amalfi,” Stefano Massa said of his neighbours and rivals.
Only the yellow zest is used in the making of Limoncello
“Theirs are also good lemons, being the same botanical variety, but ours have more limonene, the main essential oil in Limoncello.”
The peel is all-important, for that is the only part of the fruit used in production – not the white but the yellow zest. This is macerated with pure alcohol for three days before sugar and water are added. Villa Massa aims for 30% abv after fermentation, although some houses opt for as high as 35 or 40%.
All of the aroma of Limoncello comes from the skins.
“It is an intense perfume,” Massa continued.
“Every family that makes Limoncello has different recipes. Ours goes back to our grandmother, although we only started to produce it commercially as a bit of a joke. Then we were exporting olive oil and pasta to the United States.”
Production is a serious business now. Since the Zamora Group took a 51% stake in Villa Massa ten years ago, output has almost doubled from 600,000 litres per year to a million (a third of Sorrento’s total production).
“Our aim is to expand our presence in existing markets, and make the super-premium category bigger,” Massa revealed. His 70cl bottles retail in Italy at 15-16 Euros, twice the price of other Limoncellos. The distinctive flat-shaped Villa Massa bottles fit easily into a freezer, where they are best kept so that the liqueur can be served ice-cold.
“We see Limoncello as a refreshment,” Massa concluded. “We are a new kid on the block in the liqueur market. Our target group is male, and we are going to lifestyle events to promote the brand.”
They might like to aim at the female market too, for the tonic mix should appeal to them. A two-pronged attack seems logical in any case for a brand that has the potential to continue on its upward curve.
