French Vermouth de Chambéry Attacks US Market
Martini-Lovers Drive Dolin Aromatized Wine’s Entry in America
Oct 18, 2009
Noilly-Prat’s dry vermouth has long been considered by many devotees to be the only choice for a well-made martini. The company used to run full-page ads quoting novelist and martini connoisseur W. Somerset Maugham: "Noilly-Prat is a necessary component of a dry martini." [Without Noilly-Prat] "you can make a side car, a gimlet, a white lady, or a gin and bitters, but you cannot make a dry martini."
The company claims they are merely returning to the "original recipe," (which, they say, has been the version sold in Europe all along). They have enhanced "the bouquet, color, and flavor of the wine," producing a "sweet, floral blend." Obviously, a clear, dry martini is not what they had in mind.
In response, Derek Brown, owner of The Gibson, a swank new cocktail lounge in Washington D.C., suggested to importer Eric Seed that he seek out the Dolin vermouths. Early response has been favorable.
What is Vermouth?
Vermouth is a fortified, “aromatized” wine. This means that the wine is macerated with a secret formula of as many as 50 different plants, barks, seeds, and fruit peels, collectively known as botanicals. Each maker’s distinct formula of botanicals imbues their vermouth with its unique flavor and aroma.
Some specific vermouth formulas are also no longer sold under the name vermouth, but rather under special names, e.g. DuBonnet, Lillet, Campari, Punt e Mes, and Cynar.
History
The practice of aromatizing wine dates back to the Ancient Greeks. This was often done to mask poor quality wine, even wine that had begun to oxidize, but later aromatizing was used to add extra complexity to good wine. It also proved popular as an early form of homeopathic medicine.
Even up until the 20th century, doctors regularly prescribed vermouths and aromatized liqueurs for all manner of illness, and many people continue to take a glass per day for medicinal reasons. Wormwood, one common additive, is a plant with powerful medicinal and psychoactive qualities that has long been used to cure stomach problems, including intestinal worms.
In the northwest corner of Italy and the adjacent region of southeast France, herb flavored aperitifs have long been favored as an appetite stimulant. Many families would have their own recipe.
Antonio Benedetto Carpano of Turin is credited with the first commercial bottling, using his nonna’s recipe, in 1786. He called his wine vermout after the High German word for wormwood, Wermut. Cinzano followed in 1816. Martini & Rossi also began their production in Turin in 1863.
Noilly-Prat
Across the border in tiny Marseillan on the Languedoc’s Mediterranean coast, Noilly-Prat began in 1813 when French herbalist Joseph Noilly developed a style of “dry” vermouth based on the delicate, dry white wines and local plants native to his home in Southern France. His son Louis partnered with brother-in-law Claudius Prat to form Noilly-Prat, now an industry leader.
Dolin de Chambéry
Joseph Chavasse, an entrepreneur with access to the natural botanical gardens of the Massif de Chartreuse, uncovered the secret of distillation and how to conserve all the aromas and flavors of the Alpine plants in the finished spirit. Chavasse built his first distillery in Chambéry, the ancient capital of Savoy, and in 1821 he created Chambéry Vermouth. He named the vermouth after his son-in-law, Louis Ferdinand Dolin, who invested in the distillery. Dolin is the last independent producer of Vermouth de Chambéry, and since 1932 the only vermouth to be recognized with an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C.)
Will Dolin Displace the Giants?
Size matters. Dolin’s comparatively miniscule production of only 4,000 cases per year will barely make a dent in Noilly-Prat’s reported 350,000 barrels annually. Mega-producer Martini & Rossi, at 18 million barrels per year, is unlikely to bat an eyelash.
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