Some Fun Facts About Vermouth

Here are a few fun facts about Vermouth:

• Vermouth’s history dates back to ancient civilizations. Its origins have been traced to ancient China, where it was initially used for medicinal purposes. It then gained popularity in Europe, particularly in Italy and France, during the Middle Ages.

• The name "vermouth" is derived from the German word "wermut," which means wormwood. Wormwood is a key ingredient in vermouth and is known for its bitter flavor. It was historically believed to have medicinal properties and was used to treat various ailments.

• Production

1.     The first step in vermouth production is selecting a base wine. This wine serves as the foundation for the vermouth and can vary in style and grape variety depending on the desired flavor profile.

2.     The base wine is typically fortified by adding a neutral grape spirit, usually brandy. This step increases the alcohol content of the wine and helps preserve the flavors.

3.     After fortification, the base wine is infused with a mixture of botanicals, herbs, and spices. Common botanicals used in vermouth production include wormwood, gentian, citrus peel, chamomile, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.

• Rosé vermouth is a relatively newer variation of traditional vermouth. It combines the aromatic flavors of vermouth with the fruity notes of rosé wine. Rosé vermouth is authentically made from red wine grapes – others are colored with a dash of caramel coloring.

• Vermouth can be enjoyed in a variety of ways:

1.     On its own over ice with a twist of lemon or orange peel

2.     Served with a splash of soda water

3.     Used as a key component in cocktails such as the Negroni, Spritz, Martini or the Manhattan

• Like wine, vermouth production varies by region, each with its own unique characteristics. For example, Italian vermouth tends to be sweeter and more full-bodied, while French vermouth often has a drier profile with pronounced herbal notes.

• In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in artisanal vermouth production. Many craft distilleries and wineries are experimenting with small-batch vermouths, often using locally sourced botanicals and innovative techniques to create distinctive flavor profiles.

Look for a couple of really nice artisanal vermouths to be featured as the next Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week. Cheers!

Vintage Dated Wines from the Southern Hemisphere are Actually Older than those from the Northern Hemisphere!

Photo by Subhash Nusetti on Unsplash

It really is true that southern hemisphere wines are older than northern hemisphere wines!

This is simply because of the opposite seasons between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.

So, if you compare wines labeled as "2020" from a southern hemisphere country versus a northern hemisphere country, the wine from the southern hemisphere would have been harvested earlier in the year 2020 (typically between February and April), while the wine from the northern hemisphere would have been harvested later in the year 2020 (typically between August and October).

Thus, even though they're both labeled as being produced as part of the 2020 vintage, the wine from the southern hemisphere is actually older in terms of the time elapsed since harvest.

This variance allows winemakers to produce wine year-round and can influence the characteristics of the grapes and resulting wines due to differences in climate, weather patterns, and growing conditions.

So next time you are looking for an ‘older’ bottle of wine, you’ll also need to consider where the wine was produced!

Notable Northern Hemisphere Wine Producing Countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, United States, Canada, China, Japan, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Croatia and Mexico.

Notable Southern Hemisphere Wine Producing Countries: Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay and Peru

Did You Know that Vermouth is Actually a Fortified Wine?

Wormwood

Photo by Simone Garritano on Unsplash

You probably know Vermouth simply as an ingredient in a cocktail such as a Martini or Manhattan. But, did you know it’s actually a wine?

Vermouth is actually a fortified wine that is flavored with various botanicals, herbs, spices, and sometimes fruits.

According to records, vermouth was first produced in the late 18th century for medicinal purposes with aromatics playing the healing role.

Wormwood (shown in the image) is credited for the original naming of Vermouth since the German word for Wormwood is “Wermut.”

The process of making vermouth involves the following steps:

• Base Wine Selection: Vermouth begins with a base wine, which is usually a neutral white wine but it can also use rosé from red-wine grapes.

• Fortification: The base wine is then fortified with a neutral grape spirit or brandy to increase its alcohol content. This fortification helps preserve the wine and creates a stable base for the addition of botanicals.

• Botanical Infusion: The fortified wine is then infused with a blend of botanicals, which can include herbs, roots, barks, flowers, and spices. Common botanicals used in vermouth production include wormwood, gentian, chamomile, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. The specific botanical blend used varies depending on the individual producer and their desired flavor profile of the vermouth.

• Maceration: The botanicals are typically macerated, or steeped, in the fortified wine for a period of time to extract their flavors. This process can last from a few hours to several weeks, depending on the desired intensity of flavor.

• Filtration and Blending: After the maceration period is complete, the infused wine is filtered to remove any solid particles and then blended to achieve the desired flavor profile and consistency. Some vermouths even undergo oak aging to further develop their flavors.

• Sweetening: Depending on the style of vermouth being produced, a sweetening agent such as caramelized sugar or grape must may be added to achieve the desired level of sweetness.

• Bottling: Once the vermouth has been blended and sweetened, it is bottled.

Like wine, the production of vermouth is a careful balance of art and science, with each producer having their own unique recipe and production techniques.

Some Fun Facts about the Wine Grape Tannat

• Tannat (tahn-naht) is a very old grape variety. It is believed to have originated in the Basque region of northwest Spain, as well as a centuries-old association with Madiran in southwest France.

• In the late 19th century Tannat was taken to Uruguay by Basque immigrants, where it flourished, and has since become the national red grape variety of the country

• In terms of worldwide production of Tannat, Uruguay is second only to France

• In Uruguay, Tannat is also known as Harriague (Ha-ree-AH-gay), surname of the first producer to plant it in the country

• Tannat is known to produce wine with big tannin. This is partly because the Tannat grape has very thick skin but also due to the fact that the Tannat grape is unique in that it has 4-5 seeds (pips) per berry while most other wine grapes only have 2-3. Grape skins and seeds are major contributors to the tannin in a wine

• Tannat grapes are also relatively small, thus they have a high skin to pulp ratio

• When winemakers age Tannat in oak barrels they often age it in “used” barrels (after 3-4 other wine-aging uses) to avoid introducing significant additional tannins

• The upside to all this tannin in wines produced from Tannat is that they have great structure and aging potential

• Tannat has been noted for its “Health Benefits” because it contains the highest levels of procyanidins and the phenolic compound Resveratrol of any grape variety. These characteristics are thought to provide cardiovascular benefits by reducing cholesterol and lipid levels when the wine is consumed in moderate quantities

Fun Fact - How to Reset Your Sense of Smell When Wine Tasting

While our tongue is only able to detect five basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory), our nose is capable of detecting millions of different aromas. And that’s how we enjoy all the wonderful “flavors” that food and drinks have to offer.

When wine tasting, one of the Five S’s is smell.  You place the wine glass directly under your nose and inhale deeply. This can allow you to get a very quick idea of what the wine will taste like and you may even detect some of the wine’s fruit and herbal aromas. But after just a couple of sniffs, your nose tends to become less sensitive to further sniffs of the same aromas.

One way wineries and wine tasting rooms will address this issue is to re-set your olfactory system by having you smell a small container of coffee beans.  This shifts the receptors in your nose and brain to something completely different. That way, when you sniff your next wine, your sense of smell is reset and once again heightened.

But you may not always have coffee beans with you when you are tasting wines. The one thing that you always have with you is your arm. And it can come in very handy when wanting to reset your nose. Just take a quick sniff of your bare arm, right in the crease of your elbow (preferably while not wearing any scented lotions, sunscreen or other scented products). This quickly resets your nose and allows you to get back to smelling the intricate wine aromas.

So, try this quick trick next time you are wine tasting to experience all the wonderful aromas that wines have to offer. Cheers!