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
Zucca (aperitif) Zucca (aperitif) Zucca () is a commercial Italian aperitif. Although is the Italian word for "squash" or "pumpkin", it actually takes its name after Zucca's bar ("Caffè Zucca"), located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. Its base ingredient is in fact rhubarb (hence its longer name "Rabarbaro Zucca"), also combined with zest, cardamom seeds and other curative herbs. The liqueur has a delicate and pleasant bittersweet taste and is often mixed with soda water and ice. Zucca is closely related to other traditional Italian aperitifs, such as Campari, Punt e Mes, and Cynar, as it is relatively light,