WHAT IS VERMOUTH?
9 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH MARIO BARALIS
Mario Baralis is an institution in the World of Vermouth, born and bred in Piemonte, few people can claim the knowledge and experience that he commands on this amazing drink and even fewer have mastered it in the way that he has.
Having graduated from Alba’s Institute of Enology he joined the Italian Enological Association as its 36th member. For fifteen years, he kept closely guarded the original formulas of Antonio Carpano as he oversaw their production at the firm’s old distillery in Turin. For the last fifteen years, he has kept busy growing olive trees on his land north of Asti, harvesting them to make one of the purest extra virgin olive oils that we have had the chance to try.
We sit down with Mario in Alba, at the premises of the Montanaro Distillery where the 9diDANTE Vermouth that he has mentored comes to life. As we speak, he shows us the process for making vermouth and takes us through some of his secrets.
Q. Buongiorno Mario, thank you for your time today. In a few words, what is Vermouth?
A. It’s a pleasure to be with you here today and tell you a bit about one of my life’s passions. Put very simply, Vermouth is a blend of wine that we fortify with alcohol and aromatize with herbs and spices. To be sure that it is Vermouth however, we must add Artemisia Absinthium, which you may know through its common name Wormwood.
Q. Ah yes Wormwood, I understand that this is the origin of the word Vermouth, right?
A. Yes, you are right. The name Vermouth, pronounced VER-MOOTH, originates from Wermut which is the German name for Wormwood. All European Vermouths must include wormwood in their formulas, and in the case of Vemrouth di Torino there is a minimum requirement of 0.5g of Artemisia per litre of final product.
Q. Can you tell us a bit more about the Vermouth di Torino Classification?
A. Vermouth as we know it today is born in Piemonte at the end of the 18th Century, and in particular in and around the city of Turin, which at the time was the capital of the House of Savoy. Vermouth has a rich History of which in Piemonte we are very proud, thankfully the Italian government and the European Union have now also recognized this origin of Vermouth that links it to our region and it is for this reason that since 2019 it has been awarded an I.G.P. (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) that protects and guarantees its providence and quality.
Q.What wine is used in the making of Vermouth?
A. Traditionally, white wine is used to make both white and red Vermouths. White wine has less personality, so it is easier to balance during production and it also comes with the added advantage of being more economical. Red Vermouths made with white wine get their characteristic brown tone, with the addition of caramel.
From the beginning we wanted 9diDANTE INFERNO to get its colour exclusively from the wine without the need to add caramel, and for it to be red not brown. By using red Dolcetto wine as 50% of our wine base, we get an amazingly bright ruby red colour which really makes it stand out against other Vermouths rosso. The remaining 50% of the wine is white Cortese which helps achive the right levels of acidity and allows the botanicals to really shine. 100% of the wine used for 9diDANTE is D.O.C. Piemonte.
Q. How exactly are the botanicals infused into Vermouth?
There are two traditional ways of infusing the botanicals. The simplest one is to allow them to macerate in the wine over time, this is a very common method employed in Spanish Vermouths. There are two problems that I find with this method however. Macerating in low alcohol solutions does not allow to extract the full benefits and characteristics from each botanical, making it harder to blend a consistent quality product. It is for this reason that I prefer to extract all of 9diDANTE's botanicals at the right alcohol concentrations in neutral spirit solutions, a process that takes between 1 and 3 months and which guarantees that the original taste and aroma of each botanical is perfectly preserved so that it can be blended in the right proportion with every production batch.
Q. As we try 9diDANTE INFERNO, can you describe it for us?
In developing INFERNO, Alex Ouziel, the founder of 9diDANTE, wanted to innovate in 3 directions that I found very exciting and disruptive in the vermouth arena:
First, as I have already mentioned the use of red wine to obtain a truly red Vermouth and avoiding the use of caramel. The biggest challenge has been to make the wine remain present so as to fully sense in the nose the notes of cherry and red fruit that are characteristic to Dolcetto wines. The outcome is a more wine-forward Vermouth, where the botanicals marry perfectly with the wine and don’t just overpower it.
The second objective was to highlight the bitter notes to deliver a less sweet sensation. You still get an initial pleasant sweet sensation with the first sip, but then the magic starts as notes of cardamom and fennel open your palate and make room for a complex herbal bouquet with added hints of citrus that will leave a soft lingering bitter note from the Tansy.
Last but not least, Alex wanted 9diDANTE INFERNO to close with a fresh and happy sensation. A modern taste that energizes you and leaves you full of vitality, pulling away from the more traditional and conservative vermouth after tastes.
3 MAIN TYPES OF VERMOUTH DI TORINO
Vermouth di Torino can be produced from either Red (Rosso), White (Bianco) or Rosé (Rosato) wine, and can be labelled as Sweet, Dry or Extra-Dry (Dolce, Secco or Extra-Secco in Italian) according to the sugar content as per the levels below.