Vermouth, a Turin aperitivo

Vermouth is an aperitif alcoholic drink, a fortified wine, flavoured with herbs and other botanicals. There are three general varieties: red (rosso), white (bianco) and dry.

Since the 18th century, versions of vermouth have been produced in Turin, Italy with the city becoming synonymous with the development and popularity of many vermouth brands.

Fortified wines have been made for centuries. The name 'vermouth' comes from the French pronounciation of the German word Wermut, meaning wormwood. Fortified wines containing wormwood as the main ingredient existed in Germany around the 16th century. At about this time, an Italian merchant began producing a similar product in Piedmont as a 'wormwood wine'.

Vermouth first began being produced as a product in the 18th century in Turin.

Distiller Antonio Benedetto Carpano is credited as being the first vermouth producer. In 1786, he opened a shop selling the drink which he had also produced. Vermouth soon became so popular that the shop opened 24 hours a day. Its success among the Turin aristocracy convinced Carpano to intensify production and, later, to export the drink. It also inspired other producers, who began making vermouth on an industrial-scale.

Some decades earlier, in the 1750s, two brothers - Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano - created 'vermouth rosso' (red vermouth) which similarly became popular with the Turin aristocracy. The red version was followed by Cinzano Bianco. In the 1890s, Cinzano began exports, mainly to Argentina, Brazil and the USA. In 1913, in Paris, Cinzano was the first product to be advertised with a neon sign.

Martini is another Turin vermouth brand. It stems from the 1840s when a bottling plant was opened in a town near to Turin. In 1863, the name Martini was adopted, named after Alessandro Martini who had become the director of the company. They started exporting bottles of vermouth around the world. Martini became a very popular brand of vermouth, which remains to this day.

By the late 19th century, vermouth's popularity grew when bartenders began using it in cocktails such as the Martini, the Manhattan, the Rob Roy and the Negroni.

Many more brands existed in Turin during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Art movements of the early and mid-20th century - such as art nouveau and art deco - are reflected in the posters and labels of vermouth bottles. In Italy, vermouth producers sponsored many sports and cultural events.

Brands became popular across Europe - these examples are from museums in Austria, Belgium, Estonia, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Vermouth's popularity slowed a little in the late 20th century, although many vermouth brands associated with Turin continued to be produced. Many started as family-owned companies, and have since been amalgamated into larger corporations. In the early 21st century, new artisinal vermouth producers have begun to emerge in Turin, perhaps signalling the beginning of a new era for vermouth.