The Fascinating History of Vermouth: From Medicine to Martinis

The vermouth in your glass carries centuries of history—a journey from ancient medicinal preparations through European courts to modern cocktail bars. Understanding this history enriches appreciation for what might otherwise seem like just another fortified wine. Vermouth's story is one of innovation, cultural exchange, and the enduring human desire to transform simple wine into something more complex and pleasurable.

Ancient Origins: Wine as Medicine

The practice of infusing wine with botanicals predates recorded history. Ancient civilisations understood that wine preserved plant extracts effectively while making bitter medicinal compounds palatable. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all produced aromatised wines, believing they cured various ailments and promoted longevity.

Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, prescribed wormwood-infused wine—"Hippocratic wine"—for digestive complaints around 400 BCE. This preparation, remarkably similar in concept to modern vermouth, established the therapeutic tradition that would persist for millennia. Wormwood's bitter compounds were believed to stimulate digestion and expel intestinal parasites.

Throughout the medieval period, monasteries became centres of herbal medicine and winemaking. Monks cultivated extensive botanical gardens and experimented with complex wine infusions. Many of these monastery preparations evolved into the digestifs, liqueurs, and amaros we know today—cousins to vermouth in the broader family of aromatised wines and spirits.

The Birth of Modern Vermouth: Turin, 1786

While aromatised wines existed for centuries, modern vermouth as we understand it was born in Turin, Italy, in 1786. Antonio Benedetto Carpano, working at a wine shop in Piazza Castello, created a sweetened, herb-infused wine that he presented to King Vittorio Amedeo III. The king approved; Turin society followed.

Carpano's innovation wasn't the concept of aromatised wine—that existed—but rather the careful balance and commercial production of a consistently pleasurable drink. He transformed a medicinal preparation into a fashionable beverage, served in the elegant cafés that lined Turin's arcaded streets. The aperitivo tradition that would define Italian drinking culture had begun.

Carpano's success attracted competitors. In 1838, brothers Alessandro and Luigi Martini founded their company, later known as Martini & Rossi. Cinzano, Gancia, and other Piedmontese producers followed. Turin became synonymous with vermouth production, a distinction it maintains today. The region's access to Alpine herbs, its wine production, and its sophisticated urban culture created ideal conditions for vermouth's development.

The French Response: Dry Vermouth Emerges

French producers, observing Italian success, developed their own style. In 1813, Joseph Noilly created what would become Noilly Prat dry vermouth in Marseillan, near France's Mediterranean coast. Where Italian vermouths emphasised sweetness and rich botanical complexity, French expressions favoured lightness, herbaceousness, and restrained sweetness.

The town of Chambéry in the French Alps became another vermouth centre. Joseph Chavasse established Dolin there in 1821, producing vermouths using local alpine botanicals. Chambéry vermouth received official geographic designation in 1932—the only vermouth with such protection—recognising its distinctive character and historical importance.

The Italian/French divide established style categories that persist today. "Italian style" vermouths (regardless of origin) tend toward sweetness and richness, while "French style" vermouths are lighter and drier. Understanding this distinction helps explain why different vermouths suit different purposes.

Crossing the Atlantic: Vermouth in America

Vermouth reached America in the mid-19th century, arriving just as cocktail culture was being invented. The timing proved fortuitous. American bartenders, developing the first codified cocktails, found in vermouth an ideal modifier—aromatic, complex, and capable of bridging strong spirits with other ingredients.

The Martini emerged in the 1860s, though its exact origins remain disputed. Whether born in San Francisco or New York, it showcased dry vermouth's ability to complement and temper gin. The Manhattan, pairing sweet vermouth with whiskey, followed shortly after. These cocktails established vermouth as essential bar stock and introduced it to millions of drinkers who might never have encountered it otherwise.

Prohibition (1920-1933) devastated American cocktail culture but paradoxically helped vermouth. Legal as a wine, vermouth could be sold when spirits couldn't. It also helped mask the harsh flavours of poorly made bootleg spirits. Many Americans discovered vermouth during this era, even if under imperfect circumstances.

The Dark Ages: Post-War Decline

Following World War II, vermouth's reputation suffered a prolonged decline, particularly in English-speaking countries. Several factors contributed:

The ultra-dry Martini trend, championed by figures like Winston Churchill and James Bond, gradually eliminated vermouth from its original role. By the 1960s, many considered vermouth merely an afterthought—a quick rinse of the glass before adding gin. This trend reached its absurd conclusion in recipes calling for looking at the vermouth bottle while pouring gin.

Simultaneously, quality declined. Industrial producers cut corners, creating sweet, one-dimensional vermouths that reinforced perceptions of inferiority. Bars stored bottles unrefrigerated for months, serving oxidised product that tasted nothing like the fresh vermouth producers intended.

By the 1980s, vermouth had become largely invisible in Australian and American drinking culture. Bottles gathered dust on back bars, occasionally dragged out for an elderly relative's Manhattan or a customer's insistent request. The craft and tradition behind quality vermouth seemed forgotten.

Renaissance: The 21st Century Revival

Beginning around 2005, a remarkable vermouth renaissance emerged, driven by several converging factors. The craft cocktail movement, originating in bars like New York's Milk & Honey and London's Montgomery Place, emphasised classic recipes made properly. Bartenders rediscovered that fresh, quality vermouth transformed familiar drinks.

Concurrently, interest in aperitivo culture spread beyond Italy. The Spritz became an international phenomenon; the Negroni achieved cocktail-of-the-decade status. These drinks placed vermouth centre stage, forcing drinkers to reconsider its importance.

New producers emerged, challenging industrial dominance. Small-batch makers using quality wine and carefully selected botanicals demonstrated what vermouth could be. Australian producers joined this movement, creating vermouths using native botanicals that couldn't exist elsewhere.

Traditional producers responded by releasing premium expressions and emphasising their heritage. Carpano reintroduced its original Antica Formula recipe. Established houses marketed their quality positioning more aggressively, competing on craftsmanship rather than just price.

Vermouth Today and Tomorrow

Today, vermouth occupies an enviable position. It's simultaneously traditional and trendy, accessible and sophisticated. New expressions appear regularly, from innovative flavour profiles to vermouths using unexpected botanicals or unconventional base wines.

Education has improved dramatically. Most serious bars now refrigerate open bottles and train staff on proper service. Consumers increasingly understand that vermouth is wine-based and requires appropriate care. The most damaging misconceptions are slowly fading.

Looking forward, vermouth seems poised for continued growth. Lower-alcohol drinking trends favour aperitifs over spirits-forward options. The Instagram-friendly aesthetics of aperitivo culture continue spreading. Wine regions worldwide are experimenting with vermouth production, adding new expressions to an already diverse category.

Yet vermouth's greatest strength remains what Antonio Benedetto Carpano understood in 1786: properly made, it's simply delicious. Complex, balanced, and endlessly versatile, quality vermouth rewards attention in ways few drinks can match. That fundamental truth has carried it through centuries of changing fashions and will sustain it through whatever comes next.

Honoring the Heritage

Understanding vermouth's history transforms how we experience it. The glass in your hand connects to ancient medicinal traditions, to Turin's elegant 18th-century cafés, to Prohibition-era speakeasies, to modern craft bars rediscovering classic recipes. Each sip carries this accumulated heritage.

History also provides perspective on contemporary developments. Today's innovations—Australian native botanical vermouths, unusual base wines, creative infusions—continue a tradition of experimentation that has always characterised vermouth production. What seems new often echoes historical precedents; what seems traditional was once revolutionary.

So raise a glass to Antonio Carpano, to Joseph Noilly, to the forgotten bartender who first combined vermouth with gin, and to everyone who kept vermouth alive through its difficult decades. Their work made possible the pleasure in your glass.