French vermouth

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). 

The base wine is fermented to dryness. Sweetening, if desired, is added later (Pilone, 1954). The color of the wine is usually sufficiently deep as to obviate the addition caramel. Dry vermouths are given only short aging, finished, and bottled young. However, in France, dry vermouth may be aged for up to 3 years before bottling. 

---

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). 

Both sweet and dry versions are used as aperitifs, with French vermouth used in martinis, while Italian vermouths are used in manhattans (Edmunds, 1998 Kauffman, 2001). In the middle of nineteenth century, the north of Italy, mainly around Turin, and the Chambery district of France become established centers of herb production for vermouth. 

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. 

Amerine et ah, 1980). Vermouths are typically classified as sweet (Italian) or dry (French). In the Italian version, the alcohol content can vary from 15% to 17%, with 12-15% sugar. French versions have 18% alcohol with 4% reducing sugar. Dry vermouth contains less herb and spice extract than the sweeter vermouth—about 3.74-5.62 mL/L for dry, and 5.62-7.49 mL/L for sweet (Amerine et al., 1980 Panesar et ah, 2010). 

From here, it is believed to have been brought to the French royal court, where its name was gallicized to vermout (Doxat, 1976). Nonetheless, Alessio s maceration of wormwood flowers, an improvement on earlier vermifuges, failed to appeal to the Parisian public. Thus, France lost the opportunity of becoming the original home of vermouth production. 

In parts of the world where vermouth is popular, additional versions are available, beyond the two mainstream styles (Clarke, 2008). In the 1960s, Cinzano launched a rose vermouth. Martini Rossi also produce a rose vermouth, sold primarily in France. The French producer Dolin... 

A white wine flavored with wormwood or other herbs such as anise, cinnamon, bitter orange peel, cloves, and elderberries. There are two types (1) a dark or reddish, richly flavored (sweet) Italian variety and (2) a pale yellow or light, dry French variety. Vermouth can be used as a liqueur or in cocktails. 

---