For the first time here on Vino Travels I am exploring the world of Vermouth. I was invited to a virtual tasting last year led by Alex Ouziel, owner of 9 di Dante, a producer of Vermouth from the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. I have never been a fan of fortified wines, nor am I a martini or manhatten drinker that utilizes vermouth, so I had a lot to learn during this tasting. Any time a brand or producer can change my impression and perspective on something, as was the case with the 9 di Dante vermouth tasting, I'm all in on learning and exploring more.
All about vermouth
What is vermouth? Vermouth is a fortified wine where the aromatics and flavors of the wine have been enhanced by herbs, spices and botanicals and fortified by distilled alcohol. Alex explained that vermouth must be made by at least 75% wine, but typically there isn’t much focus on the wine itself. This is where Alex’s passion lies in making vermouth by focusing on the grapes and the wine as the base.
In understanding Vermouth there are 2 factors: the color and the sugar content. Typically, vermouths are white since it is easier to work with white grapes. Many of the vermouth that are red are due to the caramel coloring that is added. In regards to 9 di Dante's red vermouth, that is not the case, but we will take about what makes their vermouth unique in a bit.
When it comes to the varied levels of sugar content in vermouth there is
- extra dry vermouth (less than 30 grams of sugar)
- dry vermouth (30-50 grams of sugar)
- sweet vermouth (130 grams and above)
Alex Ouziel, founder of 9 di Dante, with partner and master blender, Mario Baralis
The beginnings of vermouth
Vermouth began near the end of the 18th century around the city of Turin, the capital of the Piedmont region. Not too distant from Turin is the port of Genoa, a top trading port, where spices would arrive at the harbor that were utilized in the production of vermouth. During the 18th century Vermouth was enjoyed by royalty including the court of Savoy. Later in the 1800’s Vermouth began to be exported to the United States and into the early 1900’s 33% of the classic cocktails, Alex shared, used vermouth in them in comparison to today where about 50/50 of the cocktails are a blend of spirits with Vermouth.
About 9 di Dante
As the name states, Dante the famous Italian poet and writer, is the inspiration behind the 9 di Dante brand created by Alex Ouziel. Per their site, "9 di Dante comes to life as a modern liquid version of the poem. Vermouth is a power struggle between Wormwood and all the other botanicals, told in a language that everyone can understand....wine!"
Mario Baralis, a master blender that lives north of Asti whom had retired from this industry about 20 years ago, was sold on what Alex was trying to do with 9 di Dante and came out of retirement to assist him with this project and to lend his expertise.
What sets 9 di Dante apart from many of the other vermouth is that theey are made from 100% Piedmont DOC native varietals with up to 83% wine content in comparison to the 75% minimum shared earlier. Also, 100% of the herbs come from the area around the town of Alba in Piedmont. The botanicals are extracted in pure alcohol in 27 separate batches at low levels of alcohol to make sure to not burn the herbs, with the exception of the vanilla and orange that can withstand higher levels of extraction. These wines are also not aged.
The 9 di Dante Vermouth is produced at the historic distillery in Alba, Dr. M Montanaro Distillery just about 5 miles outside of Barolo and 45 minutes from Turin. This distillery is the first to make Grappa di Barolo in all of Italy.
The Vermouth wine
The 9 di Dante Inferno Rosso Vermouth di Torino Superiore IGP is made from 50% of the red Dolcetto grape and 50% of the white Cortese grape. Alex first bottled this wine in 2019. He chose the Dolcetto grape to add its deep color and high tannin profile while the Cortese grape was chosen to lend its high acidity, crispness and help to retain freshness.
This vermouth had 27 botanicals added, but 9 of those 27 guided the formula, similar to the 9 sins of Dante's Inferno in the Divine Comedy. This vermouth was a lighter ruby red in color with red fruit and herbal aromas. A bit of bitterness on the palate with notes of vanilla, spice, orange and cinnamon carried on with nice length. I was expecting this wine to be more bold and overpowering on the botanicals, but waspleasantly surprised. Personally, I’ve never enjoyed just sipping on vermouth from my limited experience, but did quite like this Inferno Rosso. ABV 17.5% SRP $33
The Vermouth pairing
I don’t have any experience in pairing food with vermouth, but I thought it would be best to prepare a dish where I could incorporate the vermouth into my cooking of the meal. I prepared a roasted pork tenderloin for this pairing. On the side I prepared baby bella mushrooms in some extra virgin olive oil with a little butter and about a cup of vermouth. Cooking with the vermouth and the mushrooms added nice savory flavors to the dish and I poured the remaining liquid over the pork. Delish!
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