9 di Dante Inferno Rosso Vermouth paired with Pork Tenderloin and Mushrooms

For the first time here on Vino Travels I am exploring the world of Vermouth.  I was invited to a virtual tasting last year led by Alex Ouziel, owner of 9 di Dante, a producer of Vermouth from the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy.  I have never been a fan of fortified wines, nor am I a martini or manhatten drinker that utilizes vermouth, so I had a lot to learn during this tasting.  Any time a brand or producer can change my impression and perspective on something, as was the case with the 9 di Dante vermouth tasting, I'm all in on learning and exploring more. 

All about vermouth

What is vermouth?  Vermouth is a fortified wine where the aromatics and flavors of the wine have been enhanced by herbs, spices and botanicals and fortified by distilled alcohol.  Alex explained that vermouth must be made by at least 75% wine, but typically there isn’t much focus on the wine itself.  This is where Alex’s passion lies in making vermouth by focusing on the grapes and the wine as the base. 

In understanding Vermouth there are 2 factors: the color and the sugar content.  Typically, vermouths are white since it is easier to work with white grapes.  Many of the vermouth that are red are due to the caramel coloring that is added.  In regards to 9 di Dante's red vermouth, that is not the case, but we will take about what makes their vermouth unique in a bit.   

When it comes to the varied levels of sugar content in vermouth there is

• extra dry vermouth (less than 30 grams of sugar)
• dry vermouth (30-50 grams of sugar) 
• sweet vermouth (130 grams and above)   

What gave me a chuckle was that there was no explanation what happens to the Vermouth that are between 50 and 130 grams other than they don’t qualify to be labeled at stated levels.  Leave it to the Italians! 

Alex Ouziel, founder of 9 di Dante, with partner and master blender, Mario Baralis

The beginnings of vermouth 

Vermouth began near the end of the 18th century around the city of Turin, the capital of the Piedmont region.  Not too distant from Turin is the port of Genoa, a top trading port, where spices would arrive at the harbor that were utilized in the production of vermouth.  During the 18th century Vermouth was enjoyed by royalty including the court of Savoy.  Later in the 1800’s Vermouth began to be exported to the United States and into the early 1900’s 33% of the classic cocktails, Alex shared, used vermouth in them in comparison to today where about 50/50 of the cocktails are a blend of spirits with Vermouth. 

About 9 di Dante

As the name states, Dante the famous Italian poet and writer, is the inspiration behind the 9 di Dante brand created by Alex Ouziel.    Per their site, "9 di Dante comes to life as a modern liquid version of the poem.  Vermouth is a power struggle between Wormwood and all the other botanicals, told in a language that everyone can understand....wine!"

Mario Baralis, a master blender that lives north of Asti whom had retired from this industry about 20 years ago, was sold on what Alex was trying to do with 9 di Dante and came out of retirement to assist him with this project and to lend his expertise.   

What sets 9 di Dante apart from many of the other vermouth is that theey are made from 100% Piedmont DOC native varietals with up to 83% wine content in comparison to the 75% minimum shared earlier.  Also, 100% of the herbs come from the area around the town of Alba in Piedmont.  The botanicals are extracted in pure alcohol in 27 separate batches at low levels of alcohol to make sure to not burn the herbs, with the exception of the vanilla and orange that can withstand higher levels of extraction.  These wines are also not aged. 

The 9 di Dante Vermouth is produced at the historic distillery in Alba, Dr. M Montanaro Distillery just about 5 miles outside of Barolo and 45 minutes from Turin.  This distillery is the first to make Grappa di Barolo in all of Italy.   

The Vermouth wine 

The 9 di Dante Inferno Rosso Vermouth di Torino Superiore IGP is made from 50% of the red Dolcetto grape and 50% of the white Cortese grape.  Alex first bottled this wine in 2019.  He chose the Dolcetto grape to add its deep color and high tannin profile while the Cortese grape was chosen to lend its high acidity, crispness and help to retain freshness.   

This vermouth had 27 botanicals added, but 9 of those 27 guided the formula, similar to the 9 sins of Dante's Inferno in the Divine Comedy.  This vermouth was a lighter ruby red in color with red fruit and herbal aromas.  A bit of bitterness on the palate with notes of vanilla, spice, orange and cinnamon carried on with nice length.  I was expecting this wine to be more bold and overpowering on the botanicals, but waspleasantly surprised.  Personally, I’ve never enjoyed just sipping on vermouth from my limited experience, but did quite like this Inferno Rosso.  ABV 17.5% SRP $33 

The Vermouth pairing 

I don’t have any experience in pairing food with vermouth, but I thought it would be best to prepare a dish where I could incorporate the vermouth into my cooking of the meal.  I prepared a roasted pork tenderloin for this pairing. On the side I prepared baby bella mushrooms in some extra virgin olive oil with a little butter and about a cup of vermouth.  Cooking with the vermouth and the mushrooms added nice savory flavors to the dish and I poured the remaining liquid over the pork.  Delish!   

How familiar are you with vermouth and how do you enjoy it?

 

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*This wine was provided as a sample, but as always opinions are my own.

Here and Now with Hic et Nunc Wines of Monferrato

Last month I attended a virtual tasting of the wines from Hic et Nunc located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy.  The winery is based in Casale Monferrato, which is about 20 minutes outside of Asti and Alessandro based in the Alessandria province.  The winery is located on the lower part of Monferrato, known as Basso Monferrato, that is located on the 45th parallel, a synonmous latitude with some of the greatest wines of the world.  I was intrigued by the origins of the name Hic et Nunc since it seemed unusual for an Italian winery.  The name originates from Latin that stands for “here and now”.  The here represents the chosen area of Monferrato to grow the wines where the vision is for the “pursuit of authentic purity of aromas and sensorial notes” and there is no better time than the present, “the now”.    

Copyright of Hic et Nunc

The Winery ~ Hic et Nunc 

In 2012 the Rosolen family, originally from the Friuli region, bought the estate from Giovanni Ratibondi, the winemaker that owned a larger portion of the vineyards.  Giovanni remained onboard following the purchase to care for the vineyards.  In 2015, Mario Rosolen and his son Massimo, whom is now the President, started producing wines under the Hic et Nunc brand with Cristiano Garella as the winemaker as of 2021. 

Hic et Nunc focuses on only local varieties with a focus on single grape varieties including Barbera del Monferrato, Barbera d’Asti, Grignolino and Cortese.  The estate is located on about 250 acres of land with 50 acres dedicated to vines totaling a production of about 150,000-160,000 bottles annually.  Some of the Barbera vines are over 80+ years old!  They believe in making sure the grapes reach full maturation with long maceration times and the juice fermenting in stainless steels tanks with minimal use of wood and when used only using tonneaux.  The goal is to make artisanal wines in which they “look for finesse, amaze for its drinkability, the richness of the fruit and complexity of the aromas”.   

The soils of the Monferrato vineyards are on ancient sea beds from the Jurassic era consisting of white calcareous soils that produce wines that are aromatic and floral including their Cortese and Grignolino are red clay where their Barbera and Dolcetto are grown.  The climate of this area used to be cold with a good amount of rain, but the climate has been changing to a drier climate with higher temperatures with the 2017, 2018 and 2022 being some of the warmest vintages.   

Copyright of Hic et Nunc

The Wines 

The 2019 Hic et Nunc Dolcetto Mondano Monferrato DOC is one of the few Dolcettos being made in Monferrato they mentioned during the tasting.  These grapes are hand-picked from a single vineyard in Bricco, the highest vineyard on the estate at 400 meters above sea level with southern exposure and white tuff soils.  This wine spends 12 days in maceration and ages 8 months in stainless steel.  It was a deeper ruby color with aromas of a blackberry, blueberry jam.  Full-bodied with gripping tannins up front that were greeted by juicy blackberries and current notes.  ABV 14% 15 euro

The 2021 Hic et Nunc Monolite Cortese Piemonte DOC is grown from 35-40 year old vines.  Even though it was my preferred style, it’s important to learn about the white grapes of Piedmont, in this case Cortese.  Cortese is a grape known for it’s high acidity, which was prevalent in this bottle.  It’s typically a grape made in bulk or has been replaced by Chardonnay.  This wine spent 90% in stainless steel with 10% in barrique without fining or filtering for freshness.  ABV 14%.   21 Euro

I loved comparing their two Barbera wines with two very different styles. The more fresh, juicy 2018 Hic et Nunc Femminile Singolare Barbera del Monferrato and the more structured, fuller bodied 2018 Hic et Nunc Monumento Barbera del Monferrato Superiore.  

The 2018 Hic et Nunc Femminile Singolare Barbera del Monferrato DOC is made from 100% Barbera hand-harvested from 3 vineyards sites close to the winery. The grapes are grown in a mixture of soils to include red clay, limestone and white marl. This wine is not fined or filtered and spends 15 days in maceration with 12 months in stainless steel only. Deep ruby in color with garnet hues. Aromas of freshly crushed blackberries, cherry and black cherry with baking spice notes. Medium-bodied with lively acidity with juicy black fruits that were persistent throughout. ABV 14% 16 euro 

In comparison is the 2018 Hic et Nunc Monumento Barbera del Monferrato Superiore DOC also made of 100% Barbera, but these grapes are grown from 80 year old vines from 2 of the oldest sites on top of the Mongetto hill that receive an abundance of sunshine. Here the soils are more iron based, which happens to be found in the name in where these vines are grown in Monferrato with “ferro” translating to iron. This wines spends 30 days in maceration with 12 months in stainless steel and an additional 15 months in French oak. A deeper color in comparison to the prior Barbera with a much different aromatic profile lending more towards an herbal nose with luscious vanilla and cherry. A layered, full-bodied with moderate tannin, a solid acidic backbone with riper fruits. Seems like a warming wine to sit by the fire as we creep into fall. ABV 15% 26 euro

I have another wine or two I plan to try, but didn’t want to delay any further in sharing some of the more recent wines I tried. I will update at a later date.   Hic et Nunc is also in process to convert to organic.  Until next time Italian wine lovers!

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own.

Importer: RARM Imports LLC