Bordiga Vermouth 'Bianco di Torino Extra Dry ', Piedmont, Italy NV
Bordiga was started in 1888 by Pietro Bordiga, a bartender in Torino when the city was the epicenter of Italian spirts and cocktail culture. He decided to locate his distillery in the small town of Cuneo because it offered him a strategic position a little over an hour south of Torino, and also close to the Occitan Alps, where he was sourcing his wild botanicals. The climate there, influenced equally by altitude and proximity to the Mediterranean sea, creates herbs that are particularly rich in essential oils and aromas. His great grandson, also named Pietro Bordiga, still lives above the distillery.
- Winemaker: Pietro Bordiga
- Variety: Moscato, Cortese, and Trebbiano from the Langhe
- Primary Botanicals: Twenty-five botanicals are used, many grown in the Occitan Alps near the distillery; the primary ones are wormwood, dittany, elderflower, cinchona bark, quassia, orange peel, angostura bark, wild thyme, gentiana acaulis, pepper, and pomegranate. The botanicals are individually infused in pure alcohol derived from wheat, so that the extraction of each component is correct. (No purchased infusions are used.) These infusions are combined, and then blended with the different wines, and sugar is added. After cold stabilization and filtration, the vermouth is bottled; after resting for another few weeks it is ready to be sold.
- Vinification: The botanical flavorings are macerated in pure grain alcohol that has been distilled three times for purity. They are infused individually, not all together, because different botanicals have different requirements for the best extraction of essential oils. Once all the extractions have been done, the infusions are added to the base wine, and the mixture is left for 10 days before the sugar (Italian or French beet sugar) is added; then that mixture is left for 5-6 days before being cold stabilized. (This process was done in the old days by moving the tanks outside during the snowy Piedmontese winter, but nowadays is done in a refrigerated tank.) After another few days resting the Vermouth is bottled; after another month its ready to drink. In other words, this vermouth has a strong local component, and is entirely traditional.
- Tasting Note: The flavor of this vermouth is complex and vivid, with an excellent balance of sweetness and bitterness.
Cocktails: https://www.bordiga1888.it/cocktails-with-vermouth/
Requirements for authentic Vermouth di Torino:
1. The producer must be historic, which is to say must have been operating for at least 50 years (Bordiga has been in continuous operation since 1888).
2. The recipe or the brand must be historic (again, Bordiga Vermouth was first produced at the end of the 19th century).
3. Must be produced in an artisanal manner.
4. Must be produced in Piedmont.
5. Must be based on wine, and have an alcohol content of at least 16°, and must use the botanical flavorings typical of the area. Bordiga is different from many of the Vermouth labels sold now because they produce the vermouth themselves; they dont buy it from a producer, and theyve been producing quality Vermouth for over a hundred years. The winery says Bordiga is a producer, not a label, and Tradition is our present, and our future.
Bordiga Vermouth 'Bianco di Torino Extra Dry ', Piedmont, Italy NV
Bordiga was started in 1888 by Pietro Bordiga, a bartender in Torino when the city was the epicenter of Italian spirts and cocktail culture. He decided to locate his distillery in the small town of Cuneo because it offered him a strategic position a little over an hour south of Torino, and also close to the Occitan Alps, where he was sourcing his wild botanicals. The climate there, influenced equally by altitude and proximity to the Mediterranean sea, creates herbs that are particularly rich in essential oils and aromas. His great grandson, also named Pietro Bordiga, still lives above the distillery.
- Winemaker: Pietro Bordiga
- Variety: Moscato, Cortese, and Trebbiano from the Langhe
- Primary Botanicals: Twenty-five botanicals are used, many grown in the Occitan Alps near the distillery; the primary ones are wormwood, dittany, elderflower, cinchona bark, quassia, orange peel, angostura bark, wild thyme, gentiana acaulis, pepper, and pomegranate. The botanicals are individually infused in pure alcohol derived from wheat, so that the extraction of each component is correct. (No purchased infusions are used.) These infusions are combined, and then blended with the different wines, and sugar is added. After cold stabilization and filtration, the vermouth is bottled; after resting for another few weeks it is ready to be sold.
- Vinification: The botanical flavorings are macerated in pure grain alcohol that has been distilled three times for purity. They are infused individually, not all together, because different botanicals have different requirements for the best extraction of essential oils. Once all the extractions have been done, the infusions are added to the base wine, and the mixture is left for 10 days before the sugar (Italian or French beet sugar) is added; then that mixture is left for 5-6 days before being cold stabilized. (This process was done in the old days by moving the tanks outside during the snowy Piedmontese winter, but nowadays is done in a refrigerated tank.) After another few days resting the Vermouth is bottled; after another month its ready to drink. In other words, this vermouth has a strong local component, and is entirely traditional.
- Tasting Note: The flavor of this vermouth is complex and vivid, with an excellent balance of sweetness and bitterness.
Cocktails: https://www.bordiga1888.it/cocktails-with-vermouth/
Requirements for authentic Vermouth di Torino:
1. The producer must be historic, which is to say must have been operating for at least 50 years (Bordiga has been in continuous operation since 1888).
2. The recipe or the brand must be historic (again, Bordiga Vermouth was first produced at the end of the 19th century).
3. Must be produced in an artisanal manner.
4. Must be produced in Piedmont.
5. Must be based on wine, and have an alcohol content of at least 16°, and must use the botanical flavorings typical of the area. Bordiga is different from many of the Vermouth labels sold now because they produce the vermouth themselves; they dont buy it from a producer, and theyve been producing quality Vermouth for over a hundred years. The winery says Bordiga is a producer, not a label, and Tradition is our present, and our future.