Villa Massa (30% alc/vol) is a brand of limoncello (sweet lemon liqueur) produced in the

Sorrento peninsula The Sorrento Peninsula or Sorrentine Peninsula is a peninsula located in southern Italy which separates the Gulf of Naples to the north from the Gulf of Salerno to the south. Geography Overview The peninsula is named after its main town, Sorr ...

of the region of

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, Italy.

History

The production company for ''Villa Massa'' was founded in 1991 by brothers Stefano and Sergio Massa, from

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...

. The recipe for the liqueur ''Villa Massa'' has its origins in a family recipe from 1890, made with fresh lemons from the Massa family grove. The Villa Massa estate, one of the agricultural and residential properties of the Massa family, is found in the

Piano di Sorrento Piano di Sorrento ( nap, Caruotto) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about southeast of Naples. Piano di Sorrento borders the following municipalities: Meta, Sant'Agnello, Vic ...

, in the center of the

Sorrentine peninsula The Sorrento Peninsula or Sorrentine Peninsula is a peninsula located in southern Italy which separates the Gulf of Naples to the north from the Gulf of Salerno to the south. Geography Overview The peninsula is named after its main town, ...

near the city of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In 2000, the oval lemons of Sorrento (in Italian, limone di Sorrento), used in the production of Villa Massa Limoncello, were registered as a Protected Geographical Indication (P.G.I.) by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. In 2006, the liqueur made from these lemons was registered as "Liquore di Limone di Sorrento". Since 2006, the company is part of the family owned Grupo Zamora S.L.U.

Production

The lemons are hand-picked, and within 24 hours of harvesting are peeled to obtain a very fine layer of

zest Zest may refer to: Common usage * Zest (ingredient), the outer peel of a citrus fruit ** Zester, a tool for preparing zest ** Twist (cocktail garnish), a piece of zest * Zest (positive psychology), a component of character Brands * Zest (brand ...

, reducing the extraction of white pith as much as possible to prevent the liqueur from having an excessively bitter after-taste. The zest is then macerated in alcohol, to allow the oils of the skin to impregnate the flavors and aromas characteristic of this limoncello. After a few days, the infusion is strained and filtered several times at a constant temperature, mixed with purified water and sugar, then bottled.

Cocktails

It is traditionally drunk ice cold as an aperitivo or digestivo if mixed with other ingredients like sparkling water or

prosecco Prosecco (; Italian: ) is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. ...

and herbs like

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...

Villa Massa Tonica

Villa Massa Tonica is made of Villa Massa limoncello,

tonic water Tonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved. Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctive ...

and basil. It can be served as a fresh drink or aperitivo.

References

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External links

Grupo Zamora S.L.U
Citrus liqueurs Lemon drinks Italian liqueurs Sorrento