Fortified wine because he was inspired by a German wine flavoured with wormwood, an herb most famously used in distilling absinthe. However, wine flavoured with wormwood goes back to ancient Rome. The modern German word "Wermut" ("Wermuth" in the spelling of Carpano's time) means both "wormwood" and "vermouth". The herbs were originally used to mask raw flavours of cheaper wines, imparting a slightly medicinal "tonic" flavor. Vins doux naturels are lightly fortified wines typically made from white Muscat grapes or red Grenache grapes in the south of France. The production of vins doux naturels was perfected by Arnaud de Villeneuve at the
Wormwood Street of wasteland in the City. Wormwood Street's course follows the line of a sector of the original city wall, the wall forming the rear of the buildings on the north side of the street. It escaped destruction in the Great Fire of 1666 but had to be extensively redeveloped after suffering severe damage in the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing. The bomb exploded on Bishopsgate near its junction with Wormwood Street. Archaeological investigations by the Museum of London Archaeology Service undertaken during the reconstruction after the bombing discovered a coin in the remains of London Wall that led to the date of