As your self appointed Italian correspondent I’m depressed to tell you that I was unable to attend February’s Salon of Vermouth in Turin. It would have been an alignment of the stars, my birthday, Turin, vermouth but it was not to be. Vermouth has been such a presence lately with classics everywhere, boutique bottles making inroads, and domestic labels popping up everywhere as well. One interesting note is just how well the Italian vermouth category has been doing.

As Eat Piemonte noted

“The numbers tell the story of a category in full expansion mode: Production in Piedmont has leapt from 2.4 million bottles in 2018 to 6.8 million in 2024 with 172.2 million euro in revenue, 65% from exports”

That’s great for Italian producers but the Discus results from fall 2025 show American imports dropping from a year earlier for a potential basket of reasons including a post-COVID realignment, tariffs (countries with an already small base of imports like Denmark dropped 100%) , and perhaps the much discussed decline in drinking. Perhaps it was all three with some marginal aspect of changing tastes.

While Italy, and Turin in particular, lays claim to being the home of vermouth (arguments abound) it is still the largest by a long stretch, worth $45,739,804 in 2025. But even their imports were hit. Next on the list is France with $8,279,711 which speaks to Dolin’s presence. Turin is clearly the contemporary commercial and creative heart of the vermouth world with Carpano headquartered there and newer producers like Mancino as well. The tradition of vermouth aperitivi never disappeared and all those awesome neon signs for the big brands floating underneath the porticos are both nostalgic and a reminder of the staying power of this entire category.

And, vermouth is still something that a lot of Italians are making and drinking. Last year I found all sorts of fascinating vermouths as I traveled there. I even brought some home because they were such fun expressions of individual creators. The intersection of creative and easy to drink is part of its success because vermouth couldn’t be better positioned for the contemporary space. It isn’t as overpowering as spirits, it’s reasonably shelf stable, cheaper than a glass of wine, and a cocktail in itself, just add soda and citrus! But really we all know that cocktails are the reason for those big numbers. All bars stock it because vermouth is the basis of so many great cocktails and the mature Italian brands have that market all figured out.

But the innovation side of the ledger is what’s most interesting to me. Here in San Francisco Dalva serves a great local version that is a reminder that part owner Eric Ochoa used to have it on tap in his first bar across the street (RIP Gilda….). A few blocks away Buddy is a low ABV paradise with an incredible variety of vermouths with new bottles appearing regularly enough that asking for something new always opens doors.

One of the funny things from the Eat Piemonte article is that it highlights so many of the recent trends that are growing and defeating spirits and most other products with some sort of identity. The vermouth appellation didn’t participate in the event which hints at infighting which may not directly injure the category but surely is a bit petty if not leading in the wrong direction. With every single one of these appellation plays the importance of collective action outweighs all the rest of the arguments. Use your metaphor here, rising tide / thousand flowers / big tent / rowing the same direction … it’s better to have everyone in the conversation so that this conversation can actually happen and so that the potential audience doesn’t have its attention divided. Because, as Eat Piemonte notes, this sort of event has become its own cultural pole. People love events, we organize our lives around festivals, concerts, showings and these sorts of things are no different.

And then there’s the retail space. While K&L has always had a good selection, boutique stores are catching on and now wine stores seem to have realized that there is great crossover. Wine House now stocks the ridiculously reasonably priced Lustau line which, like recent favorite Oka Bermutto, revels in a different base wine, sherry. Variations abound: The Salon of Vermouth’s list even includes a kombucha vermouth. You can see two great trends of the moment combining like Voltron into a world beater.

And local or at least American vermouths abound. Just look at Veso on San Francisco’s Treasure Island. It’s a project by an entrepreneur now making vermouths that range from the classic to radically experimental and those tailored from local produce. You can taste them at places like Buddy or go the direct to consumer route which speaks to how this market segment may evolve alongside the wine or beer club idea. Oh, and they’re all incredibly reasonable.

What I’m Drinking: Amaro Delle Oche

Last summer while strolling down via Mazzini I almost literally ran into Simone and Laura, the owners of the amazing Bolognese spirits boutique Spiriteca. We tasted a few things there and I walked away with a pair of amari. Amaro Delle Oche sports the tag line “For the collection homo-natural: Eroticism.” which puts the spirit back into Spirit Lives. It is incredibly balanced and flavorful created by Alfredo La Cava for the Almayer Society in Bologna which I will definitely be visiting when I’m next in town. Plus, you have to love a distiller with Insta like this

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Building on last week’s Spirit Lives, this just in from Mezcalistas: Costco implicated in adulterated tequila scandal. Here’s the key quote:

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Costco, the eye of the beholder? Here’s a shopping list that I found on a recent trip to Costco.

What is Costco?

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It seems like every holiday season brings us something that puts our contemporary era of spirits in relief. Last year it was the Dorito Spirit from Empirical which seemed clearly designed to provoke: Get Dorito’s name out there, give all the drive time radio hosts a good topic for the day/week/month, arm those Reddit fora with more grist for the AI mill…

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I just wrote an article about a new line of Mexican liquors and bitters called Maleza which includes an incredibly floral Cempasuchil bottle. Cempasuchil is an indigenous word for Marigolds which are incredibly important to Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. During October and early November the entire country is covered with them and in the preced…

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Still, every once in a while the stars align to at least make things ente…

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While writing a fun article for Distiller Magazine a wider world of possibility in craft distilling revealed itself to me. The article is about all the potential Chartreuse replacements that distillers in the US are making. There are even more being made in places like Spain - where Chartreuse took a historic detour - and further afield. While I wrote i…

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At a recent Shochu tasting at San Francisco’s Tsunami Panhandle I happened upon a fantastic idea for spirit sales and enjoyment. It doesn’t apply to all - or even most - spirits and but it is a living argument for a different way of approaching them. Victoria Vera, who is the GM and buyer for all of Tsunami’s sake and Shochu offers a dozen oysters for f…

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First, I’m excited to be attending the Takamine Koji Whiskey Vertical Tasting today at Umamimart in Oakland. This is pretty amazing stuff imported by Honkaku Spirits which specializes in all things fermented with Koji. No reservations, first come, first served so drop on by to say hi.

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Cinco de Mayo primer

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