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
Aromatised wine can be flavoured with many botanicals including cinchona bark (the source of quinine), gentian root and fruit, and typically don't contain wormwood, or flavours of wormwood, that vermouths historically have. Two types include Quinquina and Americano. Quinquina uses cinchona as a main flavouring ingredient. Brands of this type of aromatised wine aperitif include Lillet, Dubonnet and Byrrh. Americano uses gentian root as the main flavouring ingredient. The name comes from the Italian 'Amer' meaning bitter, rather than any reference to 'America'. Brands of this type of aromatised wine aperitif include Cocchi Americano and Vergano Americano. Lillet is a French aromatised