what is vermouth made of

Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with various botanicals, herbs, spices, and roots. According to Italian law, vermouth is made up of at least 75% wine, fortified and flavored with an alcoholic infusion of herbs and spices, which must include artemisia (mugwort), in the Pontica and Absinthium varieties. The base of vermouth is a neutral grape wine or unfermented wine must, to which each manufacturer adds additional alcohol and a proprietary mixture of dry ingredients, consisting of aromatic herbs, roots, and barks. Some of the common spice ingredients used in vermouths include cloves, cinnamon, quinine, citrus peel, cardamom, marjoram, chamomile, coriander, juniper, hyssop, ginger, and labdanum. Vermouth is a versatile and affordable beverage that is experiencing a rebirth and is used as an ingredient in many different cocktails, particularly in martinis and Manhattans.