New archaeological research 
suggests that the ancient Egyptians infused wine with herbal medicines as early as 3150 BCE, pushing back the earliest known date for this practice by 1300 years. The finding may even hold clues for treating modern diseases. The earliest written evidence of such wines in ancient Egypt comes from papyri dating to about 1850 BCE. But in 1994, German archaeologists came upon more direct evidence, analysing a flaky yellow residue from a jar found in a tomb belonging to King Scorpion I in Abydos, Egypt. Working with the German group in 2001, anthropologist Patrick McGovern of the University of Pennsylvania found that the residue confirmed that these vessels contained wine. The tests also revealed the presence of tree resin and the presence of a number of possible herbs, including savory, balm, senna, coriander, mint, sage, and thyme.
The Egyptians were not the first to make wine, but they were the first to record the process of wine making and celebrate its values. The Ancient Egyptians recorded the harvest of grapes on stone tablets and the walls of their tombs. The Egyptians also had designated areas for growing their vines, much like Bordeaux has today. The researchers then compared these findings with the residue from a jar dated to 500 C.E. that was discovered in a tomb in southern Egypt. That jar carried an ancient version of a wine label, identifying it as an herbal wine. Many of the compounds found in the Abydos jar were present in the known herbal wine.
McGovern has begun collaborating with cancer researchers at the University of Pennsylvania to test herbal compounds found in ancient beers and wines for possible tumour-fighting properties. T
he centre is focusing on compounds from ancient Chinese fermented beverages, such as rice wine, but McGovern says they will eventually test Egyptian wines as well.
Wines that have been infused with herbs have been used for centuries – originally as medicinal and later as popular beverages. They don’t really come under the general heading of fortified wines which are wines that have the addition of brandy or a neutral spirit such as Port, Sherry, Madeira and Marsala. I suppose that the nearest drinks that we have today which resemble those discovered in the Ancient World would be the aromatised wine Vermouth such as Noilly Prat, Martini & Rossi and Cinzano.
There is some disagreement as to who produced the first modern Vermouth (it could have been France, Germany or Italy) however the word vermouth is derivative of the German word “wermut”, their word for “wormwood”, which was infused in the wine. Wormwood ( Artemisia Absinthum), is a herb relat
ed to tarragon and sage and was prized in many cultures for its curative powers as well as its ability to stimulate appetite and aid digestion. (It’s also used in Absinthe).
Cinzano Vermouths date back to 1757, in the Turin herbal shop of two brothers, Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano, who created a new Vermouth Rosso using aromatic plants from the Italian Alps in a [still-secret] recipe combining 35 ingredients (including marjoram, thyme and a species of Achillea called musk yarrow. Apparently it was popular with Casanova.
Cin
zano Bianco was created later and was based on a different combination of herbs that included wormwood, cinnamon, cloves, citrus and gentian; it was followed by an Extra Dry version. Cinzano is now owned by Gruppo Campari.
There is a story about Vermouth that appeared in the movie –The Secret of Santa Victoria, which is based on a 1966 novel by Robert Chrichton. Set in Cinzano’s home town, the film is based on the true story of hardy citizens who risked torture and death to hide more than a million bottles of Vermouth – the community’s only revenue source – from occupying German forces during The Second World War.
In 1813 the herbalist Joseph Noilly designed a process that made France’s first Vermouth. Noilly knew that wines left to age in barrels naturally alter their characteristics and that wine that was transported long distances in barrels, exposed to the weather, became darker in colour and fuller flavoured. Noilly used this process to make his Vermouth. In 1855, his son Louis Noilly and son-in-law Claudius Prat set up the company that became Noilly Prat, moving the business to Marseillan where it remains to this day. Noilly Prat is made e
xclusively from white grape varieties grown in the Marseillan area, principally Picpoul de Pinet and Clairette.
A blend of some 20 herbs and spices is added by hand every day. The exact mix of herbs and spices that goes into Noilly Prat is a closely guarded secret, but includes camomile, bitter orange peel, nutmeg, centaury, coriander and cloves. The wine stays in these casks for 8 months, maturing and absorbing the flavour of the wood, before being transferred to smaller oak barrels which are taken outside and left for a year. Here they are exposed to the sun’s heat, wind from the sea and low winter temperatures, while the wine is slowly changing. The result is a wine that is dry, full-bodied and amber coloured similar to Sherry. The brand was acquired by Martini & Rossi in 1971 and is now a part of the Bacardi-Martini family of brands.
Martini & Rossi has been producing its world famous vermouth for nearly 150 years. The company also has been the world’s top-selling vermouth brand for more than a century, and its name has become synonymous with the famed Martini cocktail.
Martini & Rossi Vermouth is 75% wine blended with a botanical mix of herbs, spices, and fruits – including ginger, cinnamon, mint, raspberry, coriander, cardamom, but also lungwort, lungmoss, speedwell, and some 20 other ingredients – in a recipe kept secret by the company. Although production of the group’s vermouth occurs in a number of subsidiary facilities around the world, the botanical mix itself is prepared at Martini & Rossi’s main Turin facility.
It’s interesting to see that some of the herbs used in the Ancient Egyptian wines are still used today – I wonder if the Vermouth producing companies will ever release their secret recipes in the interest of science?
