Vermouth Vermouth is a blended, fortified, dessert wine, flavored with a tincture of various herbs with a specific bitter taste of wormwood. To prepare vermouth at home, it is convenient to prepare wine materials separately, and mix them after

Homemade vermouth For half a liter of vodka: a handful of ripe mountain ash, 1 tsp. dry yarrow and wormwood, a quarter tsp. cinnamon and cardamom, an eighth of tsp. grated nutmeg, 4-5 leaves of fresh thyme, 3 strands of saffron. This mixture is added to apple wine from

Port wines and vermouth Recipes for making ports include a huge number of ingredients. Among them are not only fruits and berries, which in Russia can be considered exotic, but also many herbs, some of which grow only in the homeland of port wine. That's why

Vermouth - fortified wine, flavored with a specific bouquet of medicinal herbs. It owes its name to the main component - wormwood (in German "wermut".), although the composition of the drink may include shades of more than a few dozen different herbs.

The history of the origin of vermouth
The production of flavored wines dates back to antiquity. Even in Vv. BC. man learned to isolate essential oils. Their medicinal properties were widely used in contemporary medicine, becoming the ingredients of infusions and decoctions. One of the plants that have long been used as a therapeutic and hygienic remedy is wormwood.

Since ancient times, Amareno wine (in the lane “bitter”) was made on the island of Sicily, which is believed to have become the basis for the emergence of vermouth. And the invention of wormwood wine is attributed to Hippocrates. Allegedly in the 5th century. BC. he complemented the bouquet of magnificent Knossos wine with the spicy aroma of medicinal plants.

Over the next centuries, thyme, rosemary, myrtle, etc. were added to wine along with wormwood. Wines with the addition of spices appeared:
- Clareya - honey and pepper were added to the white cinema.
- Nectar - white wine, honey, ginger.
- Hypokras - honey, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg were added to the wine from Bona.

It is believed that the prototype of modern vermouth was "born" in the vicinity of the Italian city of Turin, in view of the fact that the basis of this wine is white Muscat, which is distinguished by a special sophistication of taste. During the Renaissance, during the period of great geographical discoveries in Italy, the “invention” of new winemaking products, using a different set of spices brought by Venetian merchants, became especially popular. The result of such experiments at the beginning of the XVII century. and vermouth appeared.

Experts in the history of wines suggest that the appearance of such an unusual wine was made possible thanks to crop failures that lasted several years. Winemakers, having no "fresh" material, tried to process substandard wine, not suitable for sale. So, the Campari Brothers repeatedly filtered this raw material. But after such a distillation, the wine material lost its taste. To compensate for the loss of quality, it was decided to saturate it with various herbal alcohol tinctures. As a result, they put together a herbal collection of 16 plants, which is considered a classic for the production of vermouth. It was perhaps one of the most successful experiences.

According to another theory, it is believed that this wine easily took root in the court of the Bavarian king thanks to Alessio, a native of Piedmont. "Wermut wein" (wormwood wine) - this is the name the Bavarians gave, later simplifying it to just "Wermut" - wormwood.

Vermouth received its second "birth" in its homeland - in Italy - at the end of the 17th century, becoming the official aperitif of the royal court of Piedmont. The result of the rapidly growing popularity of wine was the emergence of the first enterprise in Turin, founded by Antonio Carpano in 1786. But they started talking about the industrial scale of production after the opening of the Turin company "Brothers Kora" in 1838. Thanks to the constant loyalty to traditions, as well as quality control, the company, founded in 1863, gained special respect and popularity. A. Martini and L. Rossi.

Industrial production of vermouth
In 80% of cases, wine materials from white or red grapes are taken as the basis. Mostly used European or hybrid varieties with a neutral aroma, sugar content of 14 - 16%.

The main flavor is alpine wormwood (50%). Further, yarrow -20%, mint - 11%, cinnamon - 10%, cardamom - 8%, black elderberry - 6%, nutmeg - 5%.

Oakwood, cinchona bark, tansy, shandra, etc. are used to give a characteristic taste. Coriander, elder flowers, lemon peel give nutmeg tones. Resinous shades - due to immortelle, rosemary, juniper water and St. John's wort. In order to soften, ennoble the taste in small quantities, add an infusion of chamomile, cloves or orris root. To fix the resulting bouquet, vanilla, cardamom, and calamus are used.

Sugar and alcohol are added to the base. One is introduced in the form of syrup, giving sweetness, softens the taste. The other one provides good solubility and preservation.

All herbal ingredients are dried, ground, and then insisted on a wine-alcohol solution, placed in large rotating drums. According to the classical technology, this process lasts about 20 days: essential oils, resins are dissolved, a unique bouquet is formed, which is unique to this wine.

Upon completion of mixing, the vermouth is cooled, filtered and sent to rest. The period from treatment to bottling can range from several months to a year. The wine is then pasteurized. Heat treatment slightly reduces the aroma, but the taste improves.

Homemade vermouth
Vermouth can be prepared at home. Based on what kind of vermouth you prefer to get - white, red or pink - you should choose a certain wine material. Quite good are blended vermouths obtained on the basis of several different wine materials. So, for example, for the preparation of red vermouth, you can use a mixture of mountain ash and cranberry wine (1: 4).

A characteristic feature of the technology for making homemade vermouth is the fact that all components are introduced into a completely fermented, filtered wine material. And also that its alcoholization is carried out with an aromatic infusion of herbs prepared in advance.

Wine materials are harvested according to the classical scheme:

Red vermouth
- blueberry wine material - 7l;
- cranberry wine material - 3l;
- honey - 1l;
- vodka infusion of seeds, herbs, flowers - 1 tsp.

white vermouth
- apple wine material - 8l;
- wild mountain ash wine material - 2l;
- honey - 0.7l;
- vodka infusion of herbs, seeds, flowers - 1 tsp.

Preparation of herbal infusion
To prepare an aromatic tincture for vermouth, the following ingredients are needed:

1 recipe:
- vodka - 0.25l;
- yarrow - 4g;
- mint - 3g;
- wormwood - 3g;
- cinnamon - 3g;
- cinchona bark -3g;
- cardamom - 2g;
- tansy - 2g;
- nutmeg - 1g;
- saffron - 1g.

2 recipe:
- alcohol - 100g or vodka - 250g;
- yarrow - 4g;
- mint - 3g;
- wormwood - 3g;
- cinnamon - 3g;
- cardamom - 2g;
- nutmeg - 1g;
- saffron - 1g.

Wormwood remains the main ingredient in both recipes. Therefore, the absence of a complete set of components will not significantly affect the taste of vermouth. You can buy all this in any store, and herbs - in a pharmacy.

Please note that the amount of wormwood may vary slightly depending on the degree of dryness and storage conditions. In order not to spoil the taste of the final product with excessive bitterness, it is recommended to first dilute the trial portion in a small amount. If necessary, you will need to add more alcohol (vodka) to the infusion, so as to eventually achieve the presence of a subtle note of bitterness.
All components are crushed and poured into a container with vodka (alcohol), hermetically sealed and infused for a week in a dark place, shaking several times daily.

alcoholization of vermouth
At this stage, it is necessary to combine the wine preparation with a aged aromatic additive. Components are taken in the following quantities:
- vermouth - 1l;
- tincture - 50g (for alcohol) or 120g (for vodka);
- sugar - 100g.

Mix all the ingredients, pour into bottles to the middle of the bottle (glass is better, plastic can spoil the flavor). Leave for 2 weeks in a cool place.

How to drink vermouth?
Vermouth is classified as an all day drink. It is drunk clean, in addition to a few drops of orange or lemon, diluted with water (ice) or as a component of cocktails. Use it with pleasure, in small sips, as an aperitif or after a meal.

Dry vermouths are used in a chilled, undiluted state. They are usually poured into whiskey glasses. A suitable snack is salted almonds, roasted nuts, fruits.

Useful properties of vermouth
Used in folk medicine. So, for example, for colds, it is recommended to use vermouth with honey (2 tablespoons per 100 ml). Vermouth must be heated to 80 °, and then slowly pour in honey. Use the tincture chilled in 2 tbsp. three times a day after meals.

Vermouth also contributes to the treatment of angina. In this case, an infusion of fragrant violets based on it (1g / 10ml) helps. Dried violet flowers are poured with vermouth and infused for several weeks in a cool, dark place. Further, the infusion is used for gargling, diluted with 1 tbsp. in 0.5 liters of water.

Side effect
- contributes to the accumulation of many natural components, which can cause an allergy attack;
- Excessive consumption has a powerful blow to the liver.

Wines are obtained in the process of fermentation of juices (pulp) of fruits and berries. For home-made production, pure (wine) or wild yeast and sugar are needed, which, as a result of fermentation, is converted into wine alcohol (ethanol C2H5OH). In the traditional way, you can get a light wine with an alcohol content of less than 14%.

Fortified wines

Sweet (dessert) wine products contain free (not fermented) sugar, and therefore sweet drinks with a low alcohol content are not stable enough, they can deteriorate during storage.

Sweet wines are fortified by adding food alcohol or high-quality vodka. Such wines are called fortified.

The addition of alcohol eliminates the fermentation process, keeping the required amount of free sugar in the drink. To obtain some varieties of sweet dessert drinks (tokay, sherry, nutmeg, vermouth, port wine), not only alcohol is added to wine, but also sugar, various alcohol tinctures (for example, on grape skins of muscat grapes), aromatic components that are obtained from medicinal plants and plants with a pleasant smell.

Fortified wines are those with 14 to 20 percent alcohol. In such wines there can be sugar from 5 to 16%, the acidity of such drinks is small: in the range of 0.6 - 0.8%.

Methods for fortifying wines

The technology for preparing fortified drinks is quite simple, so you can fortify wine at home. Almost every recipe for home winemaking suggests the ability to make fortified wine based on young wine. You can choose a recipe for quick wines that are prepared with the addition of vodka or cognac, but they should not be confused with grape tinctures with vodka.

Alcohol:

• juices (pulp);
• wort (before fermentation or during active fermentation);
• finished products.

Good vodka or pure alcohol (grape alcohol is an excellent choice) is suitable for alcoholizing wine. They are added in the required proportion.

The alcoholization of juice (pulp) and fermenting must can create certain difficulties, therefore, at home, ready-made young wine is often fortified. This method produces, for example, fragrant vermouth with medicinal herbs.

When fortifying juice or an incompletely fermented wine billet, the amount of alcohol for fixing is greater than when fixing finished wine, but there is a saving in sugar. This method is used to get port wine.

Portion calculation

When fixing wine material, it is important to correctly calculate how much alcohol or vodka should be added in order to obtain a drink of the required strength.

To calculate an additional serving of alcohol, the following data is used: if you add 2% vodka or 1% alcohol to wine, the strength of which is 10 degrees, then the strength of the drink will increase by 1 degree.

Suppose that there are 15 liters of sweet strawberry wine with a strength of 10 degrees (determined by a special device - an alcoholometer). The task is to increase the strength of the drink to 14 ° (add 4 degrees). For fixing use vodka. Therefore: (15 x 2 x 4) / 100 \u003d 120 / 100 \u003d 1.2 liters.

Let's say we increase the strength of the same wine by 6 degrees. We calculate:
(15 x 2 x 6) / 100 = 180 / 100 = 1.8 liters of vodka.
Using a similar formula, calculate how much alcohol is needed to fix the wine.

The calculated portion of alcohol is added to the wine, mixed well. In order for vodka / alcohol to fully combine with the wine liquid (assimilation process), at least five days must pass.

After adding vodka, the wine liquid, as a rule, becomes cloudy, sediment falls to the bottom of the container. Fortified wine is kept in a tightly closed sule from 15 to 20 days. After exposure, carefully remove the liquid from the sediment. Filter, bottle, seal tightly.

Fortified wines do not need to be pasteurized to extend their shelf life. They are perfectly preserved for many years under any storage conditions. Alcohol prevents the development of microorganisms (yeast). Long-term storage is guaranteed for a drink with an alcohol content of more than 17 percent.

Cherry fortified wine

The recipe for cherry wine is very popular among amateur winemakers. Wine, liqueurs, liqueurs are obtained from cherries. Homemade cherry wine is a beautiful, tasty, fragrant drink. To store it for a long time, alcoholization of the wine product is used.

To get sweet. Cherry juice (wine preparation) is obtained from juicy ripe fruits.

Cherry pits contain a lot of tannins, so only fruit pulp or freshly squeezed juice is used to make wine at home. Those who like the tart taste and slight smell of cherry pits can crush 10–15 pits and add them at the alcoholization stage.

Making wine requires a special approach to water. It is better to give preference to spring or bottled. Wine yeast does not ferment well in tap water with a high content of chlorine and various salts, as well as in boiled water. Distilled water is not suitable for making wine.

This recipe is for 10 liters of cherry must. To prepare a homemade fortified drink you will need:

• cherry juice - 7 l;
• water - 1.6 l;
• raisins - 70 g (or wine sourdough);
• sugar - 2.4 kg;
• vodka - 1 l.

1. Juice, water, part of sugar 1.6 kg, unwashed raisins (or sourdough) are poured into the fermentation container. If the raisins are of high quality, then after three to four days the mixture should ferment.
2. Fermentation will continue from 10 to 12 days.
3. At this stage, alcoholization is carried out: vodka is added to the wort (and cherry pits - if desired).
4. Wine preparation withstand 5 days. Filter, add the remaining sugar (0.8 kg). Stir. Pour the fortified wine into bottles, seal tightly.

The recipe for cooking is similar, there is a slight difference in the amount of water and juice. For 10 liters of wort, you need 6 liters of raspberry juice, 2.6 liters of high-quality water.

The result is a fortified wine of a beautiful crimson color, with a pleasant smell of fresh berries.

Fortified grape wine with herbs (vermouth).

Vermouths are fortified drinks with a tart aroma of herbs and a bitter aftertaste of wormwood. These wines are served as an aperitif to stimulate the appetite, they are used to make alcoholic cocktails, added to teas and coffees.

To make a vermouth of the right color, choose the appropriate wine (red, rosé, white). Excellent vermouths are obtained from grape wine.

Blended vermouths are also popular. For example, one part to four parts gives a beautiful red vermouth of very high quality.
Aromatic herbal tincture is an essential component of vermouth. It is prepared about a week before the alcoholization of the wine. It is necessary to choose a recipe for tincture, because. there are many options here.
Let's use the collection, which refers to the traditional:

• vodka - 250 ml (alcohol - 100 ml);
• wormwood - 3 g;
• yarrow officinalis - 4 g;
• cinnamon (sticks, bark) - 3 g;
• mint - 3 g;
• cardamom (boxes) - 2 g;
• saffron - 1 g;
• nutmeg - 2 g.

If you don’t like some component, you can refuse it or choose a different tincture recipe for such wine.

1. Pour all plant components into a container, pour them with vodka or alcohol. Shake the mixture daily.
2. Before adding the tincture to the container with the finished wine, taste it for bitterness so that the vermouth is not too bitter. This is important because the bitterness of wormwood depends on many factors (its variety, storage, and even on the conditions in which it grew). Instead of wormwood, you can use tarragon (in the same amount).
3. For a liter of grape harvest, you will need 50 ml of alcohol tincture or 120 ml of vodka. You also need to add sugar (100 g, the amount of sugar can vary depending on the taste of the workpiece). Mix well.
4. Now you can pour the vermouth into a clean container. Pour liquid up to the middle of the neck. In order for the drink to infuse and acquire its special taste and smell, you will have to wait three weeks. Properly prepared vermouth can be stored for a very long time.

You can change the recipe by choosing your herbal composition (important: wormwood or tarragon must be included in the recipe!) And make your own branded vermouth.

Background: Vermouths are a whole family of drinks, many of which you are quite familiar with. As a rule, vermouth is called fortified wine infused with a bouquet of herbs and spices, which is based on alpine wormwood. With a few exceptions, vermouth has not been very popular for about 70 years. It was either one of the ingredients for cocktails, or a purely feminine (even rather old) drink. Everything changed at the end of the 2000s, when Barcelona finally came into fashion and everyone noticed vermouth, which had been widespread in Catalonia for many decades, but completely unknown outside of it. Since about 2012, in trendy bars from London to Rome, against the backdrop of the return to fashion of home-made tinctures, a real boom in vermouth production began. In Barcelona, ​​vermouth is sold in barrels, bottles, canisters and glasses and is drunk by the liter at any time of the year. Even such gastronomic superstars as the brothers Albert and Ferran Adria, one of the most titled chefs in the world, recently opened their vermouth in Barcelona - Bodega 1900.

How to make vermouth:

Ingredients for 700-800 ml of vermouth: Two or three glasses of vodka, a bottle of dry wine. Especially don't freeze; if you are making classic Italian vermouth, take white, and if you are making a newfangled Catalan style - red. The main thing is dry and preferably some neutral and not very strong (Verdejo or Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon / Chianti, for example). Shiraz or barrel chardonnay is better reserved for another occasion. Cinnamon, mint, nutmeg, cardamom, saffron, bay leaf, orange peel, rosemary, coriander, anise, black pepper, and any other spices you have on hand that are aromatic but not overpowering. 200 grams of powdered sugar. Wormwood (sold in any pharmacy). We will need 3-5 grams per bottle of vermouth, depending on storage conditions and bitterness of wormwood

Since about 2012, in trendy bars from London to Rome, against the background of the return to fashion of home-made tinctures, a real boom in vermouth production has begun.

Cooking:

Pour all the spices into a jug and fill with vodka. Leave for a week (and preferably two) to infuse, periodically shaking and stirring. When the infusion is ready, heat the powdered sugar with 4 tablespoons of water over high heat in a ladle. Stir the caramel in a circular motion, not letting it burn, until it thickens and turns a nice brown color. Carefully pour the caramel onto the oiled foil and let it harden into caramel before breaking into many small pieces. Pour 200 ml of your wine bottle into a skillet and place over low heat. Throw caramel pieces into the wine and stir until completely dissolved. Now mix the wine from the pan with the wine remaining in the bottle in one container and pour the herbal infusion into it (it is better to pour it gradually and stirring to control the strength, bitterness and aroma). Of course, there is no point in messing with one bottle of vermouth: make at least half a dozen at once (a standard bottle of vodka is just enough), especially since vermouth is stored at home much longer than ordinary wine. You can store it in ordinary washed wine bottles or buy empty ones in Ikea. Let it stand for a week in a ready-made form, and you can invite guests.