Sweet Italian vermouth

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. 

Pilone (1954) recommended that the pH be adjusted sufficiently low to prevent spoilage and that sulfur dioxide be added. Spoilage by Lactobacillus trichodes can be controlled by maintaining the total sulfur dioxide content at above 75 ppm (Amerine et al., 1967). 

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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). 

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. 

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. 

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