Flavoring, vermouth

Brandy or alcohol extracts of spices and herbs may be used for flavoring vermouth (Rizzo, 1957). Spices like anola, and ginger are known to possess medicinal properties, as well as antimicrobial activities (Joshi and John, 2002). The precise details of extraction differ among manufactures. The more important botanical constituents include coriander, cloves, chamomile, dittany of Crete, orris, and quassia. Additional flavorant may include allspice, angelica, anise, bitter almond, cinchona, coriander, juniper, nutmeg, orange peel, and rhubarb. 

B) Sweet (usually with a muscat flavor) sweet or ItaUan-type vermouth... 

But some of the more stylish players on the cocktail scene are hitting on a different flavor sweet vermouth. 

The procedures used in winery operations vary greatly, depending on the types of products produced and their market. A small winery producing only one type of red wine may need only a few different analyses. A winery producing grape juice, grape concentrate, table wines, dessert wines, special natural (flavored) wines, vermouth, fruit wines, high-proof spirits, and commercial brandy will require many different types of analyses. 

Vermouth is fortified up to 15-21% alcohol. The proprietary mixture of herbs and spices impart an aromatic flavor as well as its bitter taste... 

Traditionally, vermouth and aperitif wines are prepared from grape-based wine, with the addition of an herb and spice mixture or their extracts. In Europe, these beverages are served straight (without the addition of water), whereas in America, they are mostly used in preparing cocktails. The herbal infusion gives vermouth its unique flavor and aroma. 

Commercial production of vermouth did not begin until the eighteenth century. The wine was first produced in Italy by infusing it with wormwood (Pilone, 1954), presumably to enhance the taste of sour or uncompromising wine with the flavors of a variety of sweeteners, spices, herbs, roots, seeds, flowers, and peels. 

Vermouth is typically made from neutral-flavored, dry, white wines, flavored with herbs, roots, and barks. These typically include cardamom, cinnamon, marjoram, and chamomile. The wine is finally fortified with a neutral grape spirits. 

Vermouth was initially made from red wine, produced to be slightly sweet, and possess a mildly sharp after taste. However, around 1800, dry vermouth made its appearance in the Marseilles, France. In 1813, Joseph Noilly created the style that came to be known as dry or French vermouth. By 1855, Noilly s son, Louis, and his brother-in-law, Claudius Prat, were producing Noilly Prat dry vermouth in southern France. This white, wine-based, fortified drink, is now flavored with as many as 40 aromatic herbs and flavorings, such as juniper, cloves, quinine, orange peel, nutmeg, and coriander (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1995). 

The infusion of spices and herbs not only gives vermouth its unique flavor and aroma but also imparts medicinal properties. Some of the benefits ascribed to vermouth are given in Table 8.1. Feher and Lugasi (2004) compared the antioxidant characteristics of young vermouth with three red, three white, and one rose wine. Consumption of one unit (100 mL) of vermouth provided 220 mg polyphenolics, whereas wine in the same quantity was reported to have 35 mg. Polyphenolic compounds are reported to play a substantial role in protection against oxidative stress. 

In California, fortified sweet wines of light color, such as angelica and white port, may be used as a base wine for making sweet vermouth. The desired sugar content is obtained, as necessary, by the addition of grape concentrate or sucrose. The amount of water added as a result may not exceed 10% by volume of the vermouth. Citric acid may be added to adjust total acidity. The alcohol content must be sufficiently high to adjust for dilution when extracts low in alcohol are employed for flavoring. 

Dry vermouths usually have a higher alcohol content, lower sugar content, and are lighter color than sweet vermouths. In addition, they are usually more bitter in flavor. In a typical French dry vermouth, the alcohol content is 18% by volume, reducing sugar 4%, total acidity (as tartaric acid) 0.65%, and volatile acidity (as acetic acid) 0.053% (Joslyn and Amerine, 1964). 

Vermouth is prepared from a base wine, extracting flavorants from herbs and spices in wine or a brandy mixture, blending the extract with the base wine, fortifying the mixture to the desired level, and finally maturing the prepared vermouth (Amerine et ah, 1980). The basic steps involved in a typical vermouth production process are illustrated in Fig. 8.1. 

The base wine is prepared from grape juice or concentrate as for normal dry table wines (Amerine et ah, 1980 Jackson, 2008). The essential requirements of the base wine are that the wine be sound, neutral-flavored, and inexpensive (Joshi et ah, 2011a,b). For example, wine prepared largely from Ugni Blanc in Emilia is popular for Italian vermouths. The wine is fairly neutral in flavor with 10-11% (v/v) alcohol and low acidity (05-0.6%). 

Flavorants used in vermouth production have often been classified into bitter, aromatic, or bitter-aromatic categories (Pilone, 1954). These have been summarized by Brevans (1920), Pilone (1954), and Joslyn and Amerine (1964) (see Table 8.2). 

Another method consists of macerating a mixture of herbs in sherry at 60 °C, cooling and allowing it to stand for 3-6 weeks (Valaer, 1950). The wine is then decanted and the herbs covered with hot wine and allowed to stand for 10 days. This blend was used to flavor the base vermouth wine. However, the procedure is reported to produce vermouth of lower quality (Amerine et ah, 1967).The herbs may also be first extracted with a wine... 

Brandy is added to raise the alcohol content of vermouth to a specified limit. The base wine, brandy, spice extract, and sugar syrup are combined according to a proprietary formula appropriate for each type of vermouth. For Italian vermouths, extracts are prepared by soaking the herbs and spices (7-11 g/L) in highly rectified alcohol ( 85%). For a darker color, after flavoring, caramel may be added. In French vermouth, fewer herbs and spices are used. The spice mixture of (4-8 g/L) is typically infused for flavor development, to avoid the uptake of undesirable herbaceous flavors. 

Vermouth contains ethanol, sugars, acids, minerals, higher alcohols, phenols besides a large number of minor compounds that contribute to the unique taste and flavor of the beverage. However, it is the spices and... 

The complexities and interaction of composition on the quality perception of vermouth is illustrated with wild-apricot-based vermouth (Figs. 8.5-8.7). It shows that sweetness, flavor, and astringency are preferred at a sugar content of 8%, whereas body, appearance, and aroma were preferred at 12% sugar (Fig. 8.5). Body, flavor, aroma, and total acidity were scored better at an alcohol content of 19% (Fig. 8.6). The spice concentration preferred for volatile acidity, total acidity, flavor, and bitterness was 5% (Fig. 8.7), whereas body, sweetness, appearance, and astringency were preferred at a 2.5% level (Joshi et al, 201 la,b). 

Flavor can be evaluated by chemical and sensory evaluation methods. Descriptive methods of sensory evaluation are applied frequently to profile this important quality aspect (Jackson, 2002). To analyze flavor profile, the technique of descriptive analysis has been applied to a variety of beverages including vermouth. 

For example, apple vermouths with different ethanol concentrations (12%, 15%, and 18%), sugar contents (4% and 8%), and levels of spice extracts (2.5% and 5.0%) were prepared and evaluated (Joshi and Sandhu, 2000). Using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), flavor profiling was carried out (Joshi and Sandhu, 2009). 

A natural wine must be used in the making vermouth or the flavored special natural wines. Such a wine may also be made with the usual permitted cellar practices. 

At present, extensive research has been conducted on the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of wines. Similar studies on vermouth should be conducted in-depth. Generally, red wine is considered better than white with respect to antioxidant effect. How red versus white vermouths compare in these regards needs to be determined. Though vermouth is a traditional commercial product, the relationship of its flavor attributes to its chemical constituents and is lacking. It could be a fertile field for future studies. In addition, few studies have been conducted on its maturation and the changes that occur during aging. The use of noncaloric sweeteners is another topic worthy of evaluation relative to its acceptability by diabetics. 

Use In perfumery. Formerly as minor ingredient in bitter flavors such as vermouth and flavored wines. 

In addition to its uses as a herhal remedy, the primary use of cinnamaldehyde is as a food additive to enhance the flavor and/or odor of food products. It is used most commonly in cake mixes, chewing gums, chocolate products, synthetic cinnamon oils, cola drinks, ice creams, soft drinks, and vermouth. The compound is also added to a number of cosmetics and home care products to improve their odor. Such products include deodorants, detergents, mouthwashes, perfumes, sanitary napkins, soaps, and toothpastes. Finally, cinnamaldehyde is used to some extent in agriculture as an insecticide and fungicide. 

Products and Uses A green bitter oil used in liqueurs or vermouth as a flavoring. It is derived from wormwood. In early times it contained many heavy metals although today s product does not. 

Connecting the bonds C-l-C-6 and C-6-C-10 in famesane formally produces the spiro[4,5]decane basic skeleton of acorane. The name of this class of sesquiterpenes stems from the Acorus species. (-)-4-Acoren-3-one, for example, has been isolated from Acorus calamus (Calamus, Araceae) and from the carrot Daucus carota (Umbelliferae). The oil of calamus (oil of sweet flag) from the rhizome of Acorus calamus with its warm and spicy odor and pleasant bitter taste is predominantly used in perfumery and as a minor (possibly carcinogenic) ingredient of vermouth, some flavored wines and liqueurs. (+)-3,7(ll)-Acoradiene is a constituent of juniper Juniperus rigida its enantiomer occurs in Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (Cupressaceae). 

Hazardous Decomp. Prods. Heated to decomp., emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes Storage Keep cool, well closed protect from light Uses Natural flavoring agent for vermouth, fortified wines, and pharmaceuticals perfumery ingred. 

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