French vermouth

Until comparatively recent times it was customary to speak of Italian vermouth (sweet) and French vermouth (dry), not just to differentiate between two distinct styles but to mean an actual geographic origin.

Then Italian "sweet" vermouth started to be made in France and, later, French "dry" vermouth in Italy. Thus, as descriptions, the purely nationalistic adjectives disappeared.

Nowadays, the most important dry vermouth is that of Martini & Rossi, made in several countries, while France produces huge quantities of rosso (sweet) vermouth. Yet the Dry Martini cocktail would never have existed if France had not invented a dry version of vermouth.

It started in the Midi, in around 1800, when experiments were made to produce a particular vermouth, in competition to the burgeoning Italian variety. The first success, and a lasting one, was that of Louis Noïlly. The firm of Noïlly Prat was founded in Marseilles in 1813. The tart wines of that region -the Hérault department -are high in alcohol, low on character.

For the best dry French vermouth, a blend of Hérault and less dry wine is used and this is matured by long exposure to the elements in large casks. Mistelle -a mixture of grape spirit and grapejuice -is added, and the herbal ingredients are then long macerated in some of this matured wine, producing a strong infusion. This is blended with more of the wine and fortified up to nineteen per cent alcohol.

Further treatment is not very different to that for Italian vermouth, though, because of its special qualities, it takes rather longer to make French vermouth. Of course, for lesser French vermouths there are various shortcuts, as indeed there are for the smaller domestic Italian houses and the numerous vermouths of all styles made around the world.

Noïlly Prat suffered a setback after the Second World War when they continued to produce a traditional French vermouth, whilst Martini & Rossi in particular introduced a lighter, extra-dry style which was better attuned to the accelerating move towards paler, lighter drinks. But Noïlly Prat have staged a considerable comeback and never lost their reputation for quality.

A splendid style of vermouth owing something to both Italy and France -yet retaining its own special character - is French Chambery, from the Savoy department. A generous glass of chilled dry Chambery is the ideal prelude to a full-scale Gallic repast.

There are four producers of Chambery, the senior being Dolin, established in 1821. There are also four types of Chambery. The refreshingly clean-tasting dry is the most popular. There is a red, which can seem disappointing beside Italian rosso, and a bittersweet "Americano". Unique to the district is Chamberyzette, dry and flavoured with the juice of wild strawberries.

Chilled -without ice in the drink -this is a memorable aperitif wine.

italian vermouth

Vermouth was originally sold as a type of concentrate, and customers in a tavern would call for one or more measures, which they would then add to white wine in whatever proportion suited them. This practice is said to have given rise to the first brand of pre-blended vermouth.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Antonio Carpano, a maker of vermouth, ran a bar in Turin. The local way of indicating how many measures of vermouth were required was by "points" (punti). Legend has it that, one day, fluctuations on the Turin Stock Exchange were running at around one and a half points, and a customer in the bar, concentrating on business, when asked how many "points" he wanted, answered "punt e mes" ("one and a half' in local dialect).

When Signor Carpano started putting out pre-blended vermouth in 1786, he used an equivalent formula and named it Punt e Mes.

major italian vermouth producers

Today, the Italian vermouth trade is dominated by its two giants, Martini & Rossi, and Cinzano. Perhaps the internationally most famous is Martini & Rossi. This company is comparatively young; the concern from which it stems received the No.1 certificate from King Carlo Alberto in 1840, when he issued licences to protect Turin vermouth from makers elsewhere who were not entitled to assume the prestige of the true Piedmontese wine, originally noted for their Martini Rosso, in recent years, Martini Extra Dry has come to lead the market in many countries. They also produce much bianco and the newer rosé.

The Cinzano family were wine producers in Pecetto, an ancient village in the Turin region, centuries before their name appeared on the records of the Guild of Confectioners and Distillers in 1757. Cinzano was clearly the senior vermouth concern, and established the first commercial vermouth-manufacturing house.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century they moved to Turin, and expanded globally with manufacturing plants, bottling concessionaires and agents spread very widely. Cinzano were the initiators of vermouth bianco and rosé. Their dry vermouth is peculiarly delicate -perhaps not quite robust enough for dry martinis.

There are about eighty vermouth producers in Italy. Gancia -probably the biggest seller in Italy -and Stock are very big names in vermouth, though outside Italy the former is probably better known for Asti Spumante and the latter for brandy.

Newest of all in the top vermouth league is the firm started in 1921 by Ottavio Riccadonna; it now rivals Gancia within Italy. In 1932 he built his headquarters at Canelli near Asti, and put up another factory only three years later. Under his son, Angelo, Riccadonna vermouth has made giant strides, becoming extremely strong in Italy and enjoying increasing exports.

vermouth production

Piedmont s pre-eminence in vermouth owed much to the suitability of the local white wine, the profusion of herbs, and the ease of contact with Venice, Livorno and Genoa, which all traded to exotic places. Two hundred botanical ingredients are listed in recipes in the Martini Museum near Turin; between thirty and fifty is the average today.

Wormwood flower is the one ingredient vital to all vermouth recipes (which remain the secret of the makers) and there are distinct taste differences between brands. This makes for firm brand loyalties among knowledgeable drinkers.

There are only basic similarities in the production of vermouth by the big Italian brands. The principles are as follows: an infusion of the herbal ingredients is prepared and, in the appropriate fluid (some botanicals render their essential oils and aromas better when mixed with alcohol than with water), constantly agitated and mixed for a week or more.

The resultant highly flavoured liquid is separated from the residual solids and stored. With some botanicals, simple macerating in vats may suffice, while others may only give up their integral flavour through a form of distillation. The result of these processes is combined to form the basic flavouring according to the house style.

After blending for standardisation, it is thoroughly clarified -that is important - and the flavouring carefully introduced. At the same time, grape spirit is added to raise the strength to an average eighteen per cent volume. Further resting takes place before the vermouth is subjected to intense refrigeration: this inhibits precipitation of deposits to which white wines may be liable. The vermouth is then pasteurised, filtered yet again and is then ready for shipping and bottling.

serving vermouth

The uses to which vermouth is put are many and both sweet and dry varieties feature in numerous tried and tested recipes. Already containing some spirit, it goes well with gin, vodka, whisky, brandy or rum, though it is with white spirits that it is most frequently mixed. Yet on its own, it is an admirable aperitif and dry vermouth is widely drunk as such, particularly in France with the addition of cassis (though this mix is not as popular as it once was).

Punt e Mes is the distinctive, bitter-sweet Italian vermouth, which is probably closest to what was drunk two centuries ago in Turin: it stands up robustly to on-the- rocks treatment and a slice of lemon or orange. Rosso vermouth lends itself admirably to drinking on- the-rocks; a slice of lemon gives it extra zest.

Dry vermouth is probably best chilled in the bottle or by pouring through ice, as excessive dilution will take away the flavour in a way that does not happen with the more robust red. A twist of lemon peel, rather than a slice, is usual with dry. Or try mixing sweet and dry in equal proportions.

Bianco (white) vermouth being, despite its light colour, fairly strong in flavour may be well iced, and it is often served as a long drink with soda or sparkling spa water, 7-Up or fizzy lemonade, and a slice of lemon will cut the sweetness. This is an excellent summer cooler.

In the wake of the vogue for rosé wines, a vermouth rosé was inevitable. The intention was not to divert existing vermouth drinkers but to attract new ones. In short order, this new rosé gained six to seven per cent of the market in Germany and Austria, and is doing remarkably well in Great Britain.

The new vermouth lends itself to chilling rather than on-the-rocks treatment, and since it has a peculiarly delicate bouquet, one might think twice before adding a slice of lemon. It is a pleasing compromise between the traditional rosso and dry vermouths -less luscious than the former, less anhydrous than the latter. Vermouth rosé can look forward to a successful future.

The Drinks

Home