Martini brut - for connoisseurs of refined taste

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Martini is a global brand for the production of vermouth and sparkling wines. He has become so popular that all sorts of cocktails, bars and even festivals are given his name.

The Martini brand is named after the Martini and Rossi distillery in Turin. It produces the world-famous red, white and pink vermouth "Martini", and sparkling wines "Martini Asti", "Martini Prosecco", "Martini Brut" and "Martini Rosé". And it all started with a small winery in the heart of Piedmont.

A trip to history

Back in 1830, the Italian Alessandro Martini decided to open a wine production company near Turin. In 1847, he was supported by local growers, and since these years saw the heyday of the Italian Risorgimento, the business quickly began to flourish.

A little later, in 1863, Alessandro Martini was joined by Luigi Rossi, who is credited with the invention of vermouth, and Teofilo Sola. It was the production of vermouth that brought the Martini, Sol and Rossi campaigns worldwide success.

In 1879 Teofilo Sola dies and his son sells all his rights to the company to his father's partners. The company changes its name to "Martini and Rossi", and in the same year decides to diversify its range of sparklingwines. Already in 1880, the first sparkling wine "Canelli" was put into production, today known as "Martini Asti".

The popularity of the Martini & Rossi campaign has been enhanced by the recognition of their products by the royal families. In the 19th century, the addition of royal symbols to products was popular. This served as a kind of guarantee of the quality of the goods.

The first vermouths and sparkling wines "Martini" were recognized in 1968 by the first king of a united Italy of modern times, Victor Emmanuel II. In 1872, King Luis of Portugal put his symbol on Martini bottles, then in 1897 Queen Christina of Austria and the British Parliament followed suit. And behind them are many others. Some of these symbols can still be seen on bottles of Martini vermouth and sparkling wines.

Alessandro Martini died in 1905 and the company was inherited by the three sons of Luigi Rossi. They did not change either the name of the company or the name of vermouth and wine, paying tribute to the merits of Alessandro Martini. And also purely for commercial reasons, because at that time their company's products were already known under the brand name "Martini" all over the world. They just diversified the range of vermouth and sparkling wines produced at their distillery.

Why wine is called sparkling

Sparkling wine, or, as it is also called, spumante, got its name because of the ability to foam (spuma is translated from Italian as "foam").

Even in the Middle Ages, growers noticed that wine begins to foam under certain conditions. Forit was a serious problem for them, because the growing pressure in the bottles caused them to explode, and wine producers suffered losses.

But nevertheless, they did not abandon its production, as the end result exceeded all their expectations. So over time, they just came up with the idea of holding the cork with a wire.

What is the difference between sparkling wine and champagne

Many people confuse sparkling wine and champagne, talking about them as if they were two types of wine. In fact, sparkling wine is a type of wine, while champagne is a sparkling wine produced by exclusively natural double fermentation of wine directly in the bottle.

It is believed that this method was first used in the province of Champagne. Since then, the method itself has also been called the "champagne method". Champagne improves over time, so the longer it is stored, the tastier it will be, and therefore more expensive.

But, since this method is quite a capacious and expensive process, for the production of sparkling wines, the Sharma method, invented in Italy, is usually used. According to this method, the wine ferments in a sealed tank, after which it is bottled under pressure. Such a wine usually goes on sale immediately, since its main advantage is the price, not the taste.

Martini Asti

There are 4 types of Martini sparkling wines: prosecco, brut, rosé and asti.

The first of the Martini sparkling wines was Asti. Itis made from grapes "white muscat", growing in the region of the same name. This variety has a natural sweetness, so it is used not only in winemaking, but also as a dessert.

Make "Martini Asti" according to the modified Sharma method. Primarily, the wine ferments in an airtight container, and secondarily in the bottles themselves. Thus, "Martini Asti" outperforms its counterparts in taste, and champagne in price. The producers of this sparkling wine wanted to find the perfect combination of price and quality, and we can safely say that they succeeded.

Dry sparkling wines

The complete opposite of "Martini Asti" - "Martini Brut". It is not as sweet as its "big brother" Asti, but has richer flavors.

Sparkling wine "Martini Brut" is made on the basis of white grape varieties "Gler" and "Chardonnay". The drink is light and fresh.

Today, dry sparkling wines, including Martini Brut, are popular all over the world. But it was not always so. Since sugar in dry sparkling wine is kept to a minimum, in many countries it did not immediately come to court. The first connoisseurs of brut were the British, hence the name.

Champagne "Martini Brut" is called exclusively in Russia, since it so happened historically that the word "champagne" is mentioned in the names of brands of sparkling wines, like "Soviet champagne" or "Odessa champagne", although all these sparkling wines are made according to the Sharma method and nothing to do withthey don't have champagne.

It is also incorrect to call a Martini Brut a carbonated wine. Sparkling, or carbonated, is a wine in which carbon is added artificially, and not through a natural fermentation process. This is done to reduce production time and costs. Such a wine, although it has the properties of a sparkling wine, is inferior to it in quality. It is characterized by a lower pressure in the bottle (1-2.5 atmospheres) and a low strength (7-12%).

Prosecco & Rose

Sparkling wine "Martini Prosecco", like brut, is made from white grapes "Gler". Until recently, prosecco sparkling wine was sweet and practically indistinguishable from asti.

But since the middle of the twentieth century, they began to make it dry, because in this form it is very similar to champagne, but unlike it, it is produced according to the Charmat method, which makes wine production less expensive. Recently, the popularity of Martini Prosecco has increased dramatically, this is due to its high quality at a relatively low price.

Sparkling wine "Martini Rosé" is a semi-dry sparkling wine made from white and red grape varieties of the Italian provinces of Veneto and Piedmont. Has a delicate taste of wild forest berries.

The worldwide popularity of Martini sparkling wines is the best proof that they are all worth your attention.