Vermouth Di Torino Cocchi

Serve this over ice with a slice of orange before the meal lands, or pour it alongside a cheese course where the bittersweet herbal backbone cuts through fat better than most dessert wines would.

Cocchi is a historic vermouth house founded in 1891 in Asti, Piedmont, by pastry chef Giulio Cocchi.

Operating from the same cellars in Asti for well over a century, the house produces vermouth using Moscato d'Asti as a base wine, which gives their vermouths a distinctive sweetness and aromatic lift that sets them apart from producers using more neutral wine bases.

Cocchi Vermouth di Torino is a sweet red vermouth made in the style of the classic Torinese tradition, a category now protected under the Vermouth di Torino IGP designation, which requires the use of Piedmontese wine and a minimum of 50 percent wine by volume.

The recipe is built around a blend of botanicals that includes chinotto, rhubarb, and cocoa, lending the vermouth depth and a pleasantly bitter counterpoint to its inherent sweetness. This is a serious vermouth for serious use.

It works particularly well in a Negroni or Manhattan, where its structure holds up against aged spirits without disappearing into the background. It is also worth drinking on its own over ice with an orange peel, as the complexity rewards attention.

At this price point, it represents genuine quality from one of Italy's most respected vermouth producers.