Barolo Chinato

This is Barolo Chinato, a digestif made by adding to Barolo wine an alcoholic infusion of quinine bark and herbs and then sweetened with sugar. Invented by a pharmacist, Guiseppe Capellano at the latter half of the 19th century, it is a costly drink to produce because of the need to use Barolo DOCG as the base wine. (Imagine trying to produce a vermouth starting with Gevrey-Chambertin AC as a base!) As a result of this, Barolo Chinato nearly disappeared in the middle of the last century but a resurgence in the popularity of going back to agricultural roots as well as a revolt against mass market products led to a revival of this aromatized wine. Apart from being a digestif and as an accompaniment to chocolate desserts, it can also be served mixed with hot water as a toddy, when the medicinal origins of the wine becomes more apparent.