Located directly on the main street we find the typical food store
“Da Nello.”
We discovered another new excellence in the typical country of traditions:
the Perseghina of Bagolino.
Strolling through the medieval village among its typical streets, we stopped to observe a well-appointed window of a grocery store, and among the various typical native products on display we were particularly struck by a liqueur, La Perseghina. This drink, made from grappa and leaves of Aloysia Citriodora, is known by the valley’s inhabitants as many people make it by hand.
A family tradition carried on over the years: the aging of Bagoss cheese.
Andrea took over his father’s business 12 years ago and immediately turned things around by focusing on Bagoss cheese and local specialties. In his store all those products with the ancient flavors intrinsic to this valley can be found, but it is in Bagoss that his passion blossoms, and the ONAF, Brescia section, soon rewards him as an affineur (which goes far beyond the activity of just storing) with the first prize for the best Bagoss cheese.
Intrigued by the inviting window display, we entered the store “Alimentari da Nello” and met the owner Andrea Pelizzari, an enterprising young man with very clear ideas.
Awarded by ONAF for aging the best Bagoss cheese from Bagolino (available online by clicking here with 24/48h delivery).
It is pleasant to chat with Andrea in his store, an enterprising young entrepreneur explains to us that he now processes many wheels of Bagoss cheese, takes them out of the salts after about a month (he tells us that the first salting stage is best done in the malga) after which he takes them to his aging room, which for the Bbuono team is a true “goldsmith’s shop where milk is transformed into Bagolino’s gold.”
In this typical Bagolino cellar Andrea in the winter period salts them for 40 days and begins the aging phase, scrapes them oil them and pampers his cheeses as if he were his father. If in the last two years his cheese has obtained a second and a first place decreed by the ONAF tasters we are sure that he is an excellent father for his products.
Perseghina: a typical liqueur with a smooth taste and emerald green color.
But back to Perseghina, Andrea explains how he came up with the idea of introducing this particular artisan-made liqueur to the market.
As all bagossi (the inhabitants of Bagolino) every family has its own recipe and many people look for this liqueur when they visit the Valle del Chiese, he liked the idea of being able to have a typical liqueur in his store and started experimenting. In his recipe he wanted to search for a Perseghina with a taste that is neither too dry nor too soft, using a typical artisanal grappa and the leaves of Aloysia citriodora and obtaining a 33-degree liqueur that is very pleasant to the taste and has a beautiful emerald green color.
Andrea maintains artisanal production as it allows him to have full control over the quality of his product, and we thank him for giving us the opportunity to be able to put it online so we can share it with people who love these places and its typical products.
Perseghina as food and wine excellence for Melaverde
In the Channel 5 TV episode of Melaverde on September 16, 2018, its liqueur was chosen by Ellen Hidding and her crew for the composition of the table of food and wine excellence of this territory.
Why we chose Andrea Pelizzari and his liqueur La Perseghina
Supported for two years in his business by his wife (a former teacher) who takes care of the commercial side, Andrea impressed us with his resourcefulness, innovative ability, and the spirit of tradition that prevails in everything he does. If you visit Bagolino during an event, don’t miss his “Bagoss on the go”, to be enjoyed while admiring the always charming and spectacular village of Bagolino.
