2024-02-24 14:00:00
You have to imagine Piazza Castello, the quadrature of its buildings, and sheltered by its arched walls, a discreet distillery. It was there that Antonio Benedetto Carpana, the distiller who gave his name to the most famous brand of vermouth, was inspired by a German recipe to create a fortified wine flavored with spices, which not only became the hallowed aperitif of Turin, but also the official drink of the court of the House of Savoy.
Because if Carpana’s invention borrows from German wermut, this wormwood wine marked by bitterness and used for medicinal purposes since the 15th century, it is because Turin was for a long time the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, it -even attached to the Holy Germanic Empire. Also, if the vermouth is indeed Turin, it is no more Italian than French. Philippe Jouhaud, director of the Noailly Prat brand, one of the most famous French fortified wine houses, insists on the Savoyard affiliation of the vermouth which is also produced today in Germany and Spain. If Noailly Prat was born in Lyon, the distillery quickly took up residence in Marseillan in 1859, in the heart of Languedoc and closest to its vineyards. Because, it should be remembered that this fortified wine which has a strength between 14.5° and 22° is above all the product of the fruits of different grape varieties, such as Picpoul, Clairette or even Ugni Blanc.
A winey aperitif that marries the cuisine
The brand’s flagship product which represents 75% of its production volumes, the Original Dry of Noailly Prat is a blend of liqueur wines and wines aged using two different methods: in cellars or in oak barrels stored outside. to benefit from a slight oxidation. Everything then macerates for three weeks in around twenty spices: absinthe of course, but also coriander from Morocco or bitter oranges from Tunisia. This, according to Philippe Jouhaud, is “the secret of this aromatized wine which has an 18% strength and whose aromatic complexity makes it an aperitif that should be drunk neat on ice, paired with food and wine.
For example, the Original Dry will pair perfectly with oysters or a seafood platter, while amber vermouths will pair better with foie gras or a mushroom dish. now its place at the table, it is however still in cocktails that it is best.
Three shades of vermouth and an infinite number of cocktails. In an extra-dry, dry or even sweet version depending on its sugar dosage, vermouth sits on all bar counters, from the trendiest to the simplest. Martini à la James Bond, Negroni, Manhattan or even Americano, its vinosity makes it one of the key ingredients of these classic and international cocktails that we find in Shanghai as in Buenos Aires.
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And this omnipresence is not to surprise one of the bartenders of Symbiose, a fashionable restaurant and cocktail bar, located on the quays of Bordeaux, a few numbers from the Chartrons addresses which saw the great successes of the Bordeaux trade.For Loïc Grillet, it is first of all the historicity of this fortified wine popular for several centuries which has established it as an essential. “Afterwards, beyond the fact that many traditional recipes include vermouth, it is the diversity of the types of fortified wine which vary according to the producers, the grape varieties used, the associated herbs and spices, and of course the dosage in sugar, which make vermouth a product that can be used in all sauces and which inspires us with many creations.” Just as it does not decide on its origin, vermouth being neither Italian nor French, fortified wine also leaves the choice of its mode of consumption: as an aperitif, or in a cocktail.
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