{"id":300898,"date":"2026-03-18T18:48:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T17:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langhe.net\/300898\/vermouth-aperitif\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T19:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:24:13","slug":"vermouth-aperitif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langhe.net\/en\/300898\/vermouth-aperitif\/","title":{"rendered":"Vermouth & the aperitif"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Turin was a rapidly transforming city<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

The Savoy capital, already elegant and orderly, was becoming a modern industrial center<\/strong>: the first factories arrived, electricity spread, trams crossed the city, and caf\u00e9s became meeting places for clerks, artists, students, and the bourgeoisie.<\/p>\n\n

It was a city that looked to Paris<\/strong> more than the rest of Italy, and a European atmosphere filled the caf\u00e9s: music, conversation, newspapers, and a freer social life<\/strong> compared to many other Italian cities.<\/p>\n\n

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Turin’s caf\u00e9s in the 1800s – source: Pinterest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

This is where a new habit took hold: women <\/strong>began entering caf\u00e9s alone<\/strong>, a gesture previously considered licentious but which soon became a common sight.<\/p>\n\n

In this scenario, the aperitif became an urban ritual<\/strong>: no longer just a moment of consumption, but a new way of being in the city<\/strong>, of showing oneself and participating in public life.<\/p>\n\n

And it was in this very context that Vermouth<\/a>\u2014born as a medicinal remedy\u2014found its new social identity.<\/p>\n\n

From pharmacies to caf\u00e9s: the long history of Vermouth<\/h2>\n\n

The history of Vermouth, whose name derives from the German Wermut<\/strong>, is rooted in the wormwood-flavored<\/strong> wines<\/strong> of antiquity, which began as medicinal remedies<\/strong> and were transformed over the centuries by the arrival of oriental spices and the growing skill of European liqueur makers.<\/p>\n\n

For centuries, these wines were used as remedies for intestinal disorders<\/strong>, as tonics<\/strong>, and even as a treatment for malaria<\/strong> thanks to the presence of cinchona.<\/p>\n\n

Piedmont, with its pharmaceutical and liqueur-making tradition, became a center of excellence.It was in this context that the turning point occurred: in 1786, Antonio Benedetto Carpano<\/strong>, a young liqueur maker from Turin, took a common medicinal recipe and transformed it into something new.<\/p>\n\n

No longer a remedy, but an aromatized wine designed to be drunk for pleasure<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

\"antonio-benedetto-carpano\"
Antonio Benedetto Carpano – source: Salone del Vermouth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Carpano introduced a smoother balance<\/strong>, a more complex aromatic profile, and a calibrated sweetness that made the product immediately recognizable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

He was the one who sensed that this wine could become a city habit<\/strong>, an evening ritual, a way of being together.<\/p>\n\n

His shop, under the porticoes of Piazza Castello, stayed open until late at night to meet the growing demand, and from that moment on, Vermouth was no longer just a product: it was an urban phenomenon.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Vermouth is no longer just a product: it is an urban phenomenon.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

During this era, the city codified the recipes<\/strong>, organized producers’ guilds, and began bottling a stable, sweet, and balsamic product destined to become famous far beyond the Savoy borders; in the nineteenth century, Vermouth di Torino conquered Europe<\/strong> and the Americas<\/strong>, establishing itself as a fundamental ingredient in mixology.<\/p>\n\n

It diversified into new types, including White Vermouth<\/strong> \u2013 lighter and more floral \u2013 and Red Vermouth<\/strong>, more bitter and intense with a vermilion color. <\/p>\n\n

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Vermouth advertisements over the years – source: https:\/\/www.uncorkventional.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The twentieth century then brought regulations<\/strong>, official recognition<\/strong>, and growing protection for its Turin identity, while the recipe continued to revolve around its three essential elements: wine, botanicals, and sugar.<\/p>\n\n

White Vermouth and women<\/h2>\n\n

In this climate of transformation, a new variant emerged: White Vermouth.<\/p>\n\n

Brighter, smoother, more inclined toward floral and citrus notes<\/strong>, it was able to interpret a different, more contemporary<\/strong> taste, closer to the female sensibility of the time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

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Not a product “for women” in the reductive sense of the term, but a new way of thinking about the aperitif: lighter, more social, more urban.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

And the ladies of Turin immediately embraced it naturally.<\/p>\n\n

Advertisements of the time tell the story well: elegant ladies,<\/strong> groups of friends dancing, female figures as the protagonists of the scene.<\/p>\n\n

\"gancia-white-vermouth\"
1925 advertisement for Gancia White Vermouth – source: ebay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

White Vermouth became “the ladies’ favorite<\/strong>,” not through rhetorical construction, but through a real affinity<\/strong> with a taste that was changing along with society.<\/p>\n\n

A product that spans eras and social roles<\/h2>\n\n
\"gancia-white-vermouth-men-theater\"
Gancia White Vermouthsource: ebay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

In the 1930s, the narrative changed again.<\/p>\n\n

White <\/strong>was presented as an “elegant” drink<\/strong> for men too: advertisements featured male figures in tailcoats, light-colored glass in hand.<\/p>\n\n

Color thus became status<\/strong>, transcending gender roles and calling them into question.<\/p>\n\n

It was no longer “for ladies” or “for men”<\/strong>: it was a cross-cutting product that adapted to contexts and eras.<\/p>\n\n

Today, Red Vermouth<\/strong>, once more bitter and linked to cinchona, is often presented as sweeter, smoother, and more floral, and the sharp distinction between “ladies'” White and “men’s” Red has dissolved.<\/p>\n\n

A glass that continues to evolve<\/h2>\n\n

Today, Vermouth is experiencing a new season<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

It is not a return to the past, but a different way of looking at a product that has managed to cross eras, tastes, and habits without losing its identity.<\/p>\n

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\n Vermouth<\/span>\n A new season <\/span>\n <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n <\/header>\n
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