Vermouth flavoring, base wine

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. 

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. 

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%). 

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 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). 

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... 

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