Vermouth has a surprisingly complex family history. To describe the history of vermouth, we can go back 8,000 years to the Neolithic period in China, the seemingly unlikely place for vermouth's prototype, a wine blended with potentially health-giving herbs – fruit, honey, and rice malt. This blend suggests the common thread in all vermouth's incarnations across the world and historical periods: It is a wine-based drink consumed for pleasure and health benefits. As in ancient Greece, where Hippocrates macerated wine with wormwood and other spices, obtaining a wine then known as 'Hippocratic'.
The modern version, as we know it today, was born around 1786 by Antonio Benedetto Carpano in Turin, Italy. It was he who first commercialized a flavored, fortified wine, which Carpano called "wermut," the Germanic word for "wormwood" or the general term for members of the Artemisia family, which were believed to have health-giving properties. It was sweetened with spirits to make what he believed would be a more suitable drink for ladies than the local red wines. Vermouth became so popular that his shop was soon open 24 hours a day.
Today, Vermouth di Torino is flourishing, and it even has a protected designation of origin. If you buy something with 'Vermouth di Torino' on the label, it must have been produced and bottled in Piedmont with a base of Italian wine, have an alcohol percentage between 16% and 22%, and Artemisia Absinthium must be one of the main ingredients.
The French Connection
In 1821, a young French distiller named Joseph Chavasse went to Turin. Joseph saw that Italian distillers were developing new drinks that appealed to the local population. Impressed by these drinks, Joseph decided to create his own vermouth recipe.
He later moved to Chambéry, where his daughter and son-in-law, Marie and Louis-Ferdinand Dolin, bought the distillery and named it after their flagship product: "Vermouth Dolin." Dolin became such a success that people in Chambéry, both the ordinary and the more enterprising, tried to jump on the bandwagon, thus creating new competition for Dolin.
Unfortunately, the Chambéry style has now largely gone out of fashion, and Dolin is the last remaining producer.
Spread to the Rest of the World
The industry took off, and many other producers entered the scene. Vermouth crossed the Atlantic, arriving in New York City for the 1853 World's Fair. However, vermouth only became firmly established in New York City in the 1860s, when a more elegant way of public drinking became widespread in the city. Dozens of new cocktails were created with the addition of vermouth, many of which are still popular today or are being rediscovered in the current cocktail renaissance. Before Prohibition in the USA, vermouth was so popular for a period that sales surpassed table wine.
After the vermouth boom in the early 1900s, World War I loomed on the horizon, which would bring these happy days to an end. Production declined after the war, followed by export duties and Prohibition in the USA, which crippled vermouth exports. World War II brought the bombing of Chambéry in 1944, turning the capital of French vermouth into a pile of rubble, and after the war, there were anti-Italian sentiments.
All of this contributed to bartenders in the mid-20th century following in the wake of martini drinkers like Winston Churchill, who is said to have merely glanced at a bottle of vermouth (or according to some versions of the story, in the direction of France) while preparing a drink. This trend towards dry martinis, combined with changing taste preferences towards lighter-tasting drinks and the rise of the vodka martini, meant that vermouth was largely ignored and, as a result, misunderstood.
The Resurrection
The recent resurgence of cocktail culture – especially the popularity of the Negroni – has introduced vermouth to an entire new generation. It is no longer a standardized product, but a flavorful wine that combines old recipes and craftsmanship, revealing the right balance between the original wine and natural essences. Vermouth has returned as a staple in mixology, just as it dominated in the early 20th century.
This return to its roots has particularly fascinated American mixologists and has led to the creation of new cocktails. It is no coincidence that dozens of new brands are flourishing, and numerous historical cellars have rediscovered their family recipes. Vermouth was born as a homemade flavorful wine, to be enjoyed with family or on special occasions. Today, with a more refined appearance, vermouth is regaining its exclusive style and symbolizes the perfect blend of tradition and innovation.
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