Nocino Liqueur Tradition
Nocino Liqueur Tradition features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Modena. Give it roughly ~45 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type distillery
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Modena Modena guide
About Nocino Liqueur Tradition
Nocino is Modena's traditional walnut liqueur, made from unripe green walnuts harvested on the feast of St John (June 24) and steeped in alcohol for months.
Nocino is Modena's ancient walnut liqueur, one of the most distinctive regional spirits of Emilia-Romagna. According to tradition, rooted in Celtic and then Christian folk practices, the unripe green walnuts must be harvested on the night of June 23rd (the eve of St John the Baptist's feast), ideally by a woman walking barefoot in the dew-covered grass, who picks exactly 40 walnuts with her hands (never with metal tools). The walnuts are quartered and steeped in pure grain alcohol (usually 95°) along with spices, cinnamon, cloves, citrus peel, vanilla, for 40 days in a sealed glass jar placed in a sunny window. The mixture is then filtered, sweetened with sugar syrup, and aged in small wooden barrels or glass demijohns for at least one year, though many producers age it for two or three years. The resulting liqueur is dark brown, slightly bitter, deeply aromatic and intensely complex. The Ordine del Nocino Modenese, the Order of Nocino of Modena, was founded in 1978 to preserve and promote the traditional recipe and holds an annual competition for the best Nocino.
Did you know? Nocino tradition dictates that the 40 walnuts must be harvested on the night of June 23rd by a woman walking barefoot in dew-covered grass, never with metal tools.
How long is a visit to Nocino Liqueur Tradition?
Set aside roughly ~45 min for Nocino Liqueur Tradition. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Nocino Liqueur Tradition worth your time?
Nocino Liqueur Tradition is among the 18 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Modena, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Modena
Hear the story of Nocino Liqueur Tradition
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