Wine of the Week
ANOTHER trip to Italy, this time to Turin and the Monferrato hills just east of the city, a new area for me and a visit to a historic Vermouth producer.
Cocchi have been making Vermouth (aromatised wines) since 1891.
I flew into Milan and quickly assembled my bike, headed south-east across the Po Valley and paddy fields that produce 40 per cent of Europe’s risotto rice. Seventy-five miles later, I arrived into the Monferrato hills and the beautiful village of Cocconato, home to the legendary Cocchi winery.
I enjoyed a full tour and lesson in Vermouth production, followed by about 10 simple and classic cocktails based on a range of their incredible aromatised wines from Extra Dry Vermouth, Sweet Vermouth di Torino (their flagship wine and the benchmark for sweet Vermouth cocktails used in classic cocktails such as Negroni, Old Fashioned and Manhattan) and Americano aperitif wine for varying types of spritz.
This experience was incredible and I would need the entire Courier space to break down the intricacies of Vermouth production.
Everybody knows the Martini Vermouth brand and one frightening fact that I heard was that they could bottle the entire Cocchi annual production in just two hours.
This brilliant experience has inspired me to introduce a small range of classic cocktails and aperitivos into our tasting bar range. My favourite was a reverse Martini using two parts dry Vermouth, one part gin and
Lockett Bros, Wine & Whisky Specialist; 133 High Street, North Berwick; 01620 890799; www.lockettbros.co.uk