Aperitivo appreciation: why it’s time to stock up on vermouth

If I were asked to sum up my Dry January in two words, I’d say monastic and Italian. I’ve either been refraining and replacing nights out with the missing-vowels round in Only Connect, or drinking vermouth and soda. I rationalise the latter to myself as a way to ease off the lethargic indulgence of the festive season with bright, spritzy things, most of which fall under the wide umbrella of the Italian aperitivo.

These are drinks typically savoured while overlooking a pristine coastline with a gorgeous date. They’re wearing linen, you’re wearing a hat with a brim so wide it puts both Melania Trump and Hamburglar to shame. Crucially, the sun is shining. Aperitivo is not a style of drinking one typically connects with this time of year, when the daylight hours with which to enjoy it are short and reasons to celebrate are few, but it’s how I’m choosing to spend it, thank you very much.

The word “aperitivus” was used to denote substances that “opened” the appetite, preparing the body for eating. In ancient Rome, feasts began with a “gustatio” course, and society’s elites would accompany it with wine flavoured with spices and honey. But, the birthplace for the aperitivo as we know it today is Turin. This was where vermouth was created, in 1786, when herbalist Antonio Benedetto Carpano fortified a sweet moscato wine and infused it with aromatic herbs and spices, the key ingredient being wormwood, Wermut in German. This aperitivo was not for Ancient Roman nobility, but for everyone, and became a staple in the lives of many. Turin being naming as the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 broadened the city’s cultural influence, including its drinks culture.

Today, vermouth is at the heart of modern aperitivi, and offers much interest, whether you’re a casual enjoyer who feels reassured when you see a big brand behind a bar, or you like to get under the bonnet and get a little nerdier at the subtle differences between vermouths. I’m often the former, but more reliably the latter. My synapses fire in an altogether more pleasing way when savouring a bitter, complex vermouth topped with soda.

Vault Aperitivo is a British aperitivo brand that now manufactures in Saffron Walden, but started life in Sorella, a neighbourhood Italian in Clapham. Here, Dan Joines would make vermouth inspired by a trip to Bodega 1900 in Barcelona (now closed). The vermouth he tried there was bright red, bitter and made with high-quality wine – very different to large brands available in the UK. The ingredients he uses are obsessively sourced, the resulting drinks are gastronomically positioned, and a good option for those looking to drink a little lighter this month and beyond.

“So many people drink less now, or not at all, and we need to react to that,” he told me recently, adding that opting for a vermouth and soda rather than a gin and tonic can halve the ABV. “We also do a non-alc aperitivo that’s served at the Fat Duck, Le Manoir and Luca. It’s grown-up, geeky drinking for people who like to drink and who want something that satisfies.”

Their Forest Red Vermouth (£33, 750ml) is just the thing for this time of year – and with foraged douglas fir and scots pine in the mix, you’re essentially drinking two types of Christmas tree. A small continuation of the festive mood, something all of us need a bit of this month.