As the Wormwood Turns

Vermouths are fortified and aromatized wine-based drinks — classic aperitifs (“aperitif,” from the Latin verb for open, “aperire,” as they’re meant to open your appetite in anticipation of your feast). Like ports and sherries and such, vermouths are fortified with a neutral grape spirit to raise their alcohol levels. Unlike ports and sherries and such, vermouths are aromatized — infused with spices, fruit derivatives, and botanicals like cinnamon, orange peel, and, of course, wormwood. Vermouths are the core ingredients to a number of cocktails, but can also be enjoyed on their own.

This little culinary gem is the result of two trends in the late 18th century — a trend of flavoring wine to make it more tasty (and more commercially competitive in a growing world of European trade) and an interest in medicines and tonics. People had been aromatizing wines for generations, however vermouth as we know it started in Torino, in the legendarily influential Duchy of Savoy, in northern Italy.

Torino was a town of cafés and shops, with a culture of people sitting out in the evening, processing their days over drinks. Add into the mix the fact that, due to the Portuguese finding a short cut around the Cape of Hope, spices were suddenly in greater supply and cheaper than they had been. So, enter 21 year-old Benedetto Carpano. After having tasted German wines infused with wormwood, in 1786, he made his own version and called it “Vermut.” After it entranced Duke Vittorio Amedeo III, the rest is history in your glass.

Please join us this Wine Wednesday to taste the fruits of Carpano’s legacy. This is another one of our free, walk-up tastings. We hope to see you any time in the hour and a half.