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Sweet vermouth is a fortified wine that can be red or white and is often used in cocktails. Italian vermouth is considered the best, with Rosso being slightly sweet and bitter, and white being very sweet. Look for smaller bottles to try before committing to a full-size bottle.
Sweet vermouth is a type of sweet, fortified wine often sold alongside dessert wines in wine and liquor stores. The original blends for sweet vermouth were all red in color, with the paler varieties typically having a very dry flavor. Today, sweet vermouth can be red or white and comes in a wide variety of brands and styles. Choosing one type of sweet vermouth may seem daunting at first, but once you narrow it down, you should only need to buy a bottle or two to decide on a favorite. Before committing your budget to any brand, it’s important to read and understand vermouth labels.
High-quality red or white wine serves as the basis for most styles of sweet vermouth. Toward the end of the fermentation process, winemakers fortify the wine with brandy or other grape-derived spirit. Sugar syrup is also added, bringing the sugar content up to around 14% in most sweet vermouths.
Dry vermouth originated mainly in France, while Italy is credited with creating the best sweet vermouth. Take this information into consideration and read the bottle labels carefully. Avoid those that were shipped from France, gravitating towards bottles from Italy. Italian vermouth labels usually have red or white printing on the front. Vermouth Rosso is usually red and slightly sweet with a bitter undertone. White vermouth is much sweeter and is often paired with desserts when served with a meal.
Some wine and liquor stores may also sell slightly rare vintages of rose-colored sweet vermouth. Usually labeled roasted on the front, this type of vermouth is said to be the sweetest of the three colors. It is reportedly a blend of the best parts of red and white vermouth, combining the sometimes cloying sweetness of white vermouth with the slightly bitter flavor of red vermouth. If you’re looking for a very balanced drink that you can sip from a chilled glass, rosé might be your best bet.
Once you’ve checked the labels and picked a color or two, the only thing left to do is buy a bottle of each and try them. This doesn’t mean you have to pay for a full-size bottle of something you might not like, however. Look for the side islands and shelves behind store registers—usually, these areas are stocked with much smaller bottles of sweet vermouth and other spirits. Clip on a 6cm tall bottle of each of your options, chill, pour, sip and decide. You may enjoy all of your choices, or none of them. This is largely a matter of personal taste.
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