Antonio Benedetto Carpano (1751-1815) is considered the inventor of Vermouth. In his youth, he was interested in natural and agricultural sciences. While working as a shop assistant in the liqueur shop of a certain Signor Marendazzo in Turin (Piedmont) in Piazza Castello, near the Turin Stock Exchange, he began experimenting with the flavouring of liqueurs. His aim was to develop a new flavoured alcoholic drink.
Created in 1786, "Urwermut" was a white wine made from the Moscato di Canelli variety, sweetened with sugar, spritzed and flavoured with an extract of around 30 herbs (preferably Artemisia absinthum) and spices (cinnamon). According to the custom of the time, the alcoholic drink was filtered through a fine-meshed linen cloth.
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The glossary is a monumental achievement and one of the most important contributions to wine knowledge. Of all the encyclopaedias I use on the subject of wine, it is by far the most important. That was the case ten years ago and it hasn't changed since.
Andreas Essl
Autor, Modena