ROME -- Roberto Bava, the President of Consorzio del Vermouth di Torino met with food and wine journalists at a lunch at Novokov in London the other day, to promote Vermouth di Torino PGI and Mediterranean products. Dottore Bavi pointed out that part of the allure of Vermouth is it's 100 perccent natural ingredients.

 It is a wine based drink which is aromatised with herbs, flowers and spices. Bavi said that it's secret recipe of natural ingredients was invented 300 years ago by the Romans.

Similar to Parmesan cheese there is also an organisation for the promotion and quality standards of Vermouth in Turin, (or Torino) the capital of Piedmont. It's the ingredients from Torino that keep the Vermouth high quality and unique, Bavi added and for this reason the EU appointed Torino to be the capital of Vermouth, he added. Piedmont has a geographic importance for its climate and soil and by law 0.5 grams needs to be traced back to the field on Piedmont for Vermouth, he added.

 
 "There is a specific aroma that comes from the spices and botanicals grown in this area. The different temperatures between day and night gives the barks, roots, herbs and spices a more intense taste." He explained. "So it's not only about having the saviour faire to know how to extract the flavours, it’s also geographically important that the ingredients for Vermouth are from Piedmont area, " he added.

 Because of this the essence of Vermouth is remains high quality ingredients. Consumers overseas are becoming aware of this and for that reason the demand has doubled in the last five years, Bava continued.

Vermouth is no longer just being drunk as an aperitif by Italians, following a meal with wine. It is now a key ingredient in the ever popular Negroni cocktail and other Vermouth inspired cocktails around the world, Roberto Bava pointed out.

 Italians still drink Vermouth also as a welcome drink aperitivo but doesn’t take the place of wine, he said. For this reason its more popular in the USA and UK than in italy, he added.

As cocktails become more popular in Asia, big cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai in China see more demand from consumes for Vermouth. For this reason the Vermouth PR team and Bavi himself have been travelling outside Italy to promote the drink globally, from London, to USA and Asia.

 "Our success is a testament to the increasing consumer demand for quality products from Italy," Bavi concluded.