Send me your thoughts at ibotezatu5@gmail.com

Vermouth is everywhere, yet rarely examined on its own.

Often encountered through classic cocktails rather than the glass itself, vermouth plays a defining role in balance, aroma, and structure while remaining largely unacknowledged. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we slow down and treat vermouth as what it truly is: wine, shaped by fortification, bitterness, and deliberate design.

We explore vermouth’s foundations in neutral grape varieties, the use of grape spirit for stability and extraction, and the careful construction of botanical profiles built around wormwood, roots, barks, citrus, and spice. Along the way, we trace its emergence from eighteenth-century Turin, its ties to apothecaries and café culture, and its evolution into a cornerstone of modern drinking culture.

This episode examines why bitterness matters, how extraction chemistry influences sensory balance, and why vermouth behaves like wine once the bottle is opened. More than a mixer, vermouth reveals how intention, chemistry, and restraint can reshape what wine can be.

Glossary

Vermouth
An aromatized, fortified wine flavored with botanicals, legally required to include wormwood.

Wermut
The German word for wormwood, from which the term vermouth is derived.

Wormwood (Artemisia spp.)
A bitter plant containing potent compounds that provide structural bitterness in vermouth.

Aromatized Wine
Wine that has been flavored with herbs, spices, fruits, or other botanicals after fermentation.

Fortification
The addition of distilled alcohol, typically neutral grape spirit, to raise alcohol content and improve stability.

Neutral Grape Variety
A grape selected for low aromatic intensity and high acidity, used as a base to showcase added flavors rather than varietal character.

Sesquiterpene Lactones
Bitter compounds found in plants like wormwood and gentian that contribute to vermouth’s structure and persistence.

Maceration
Extraction of compounds by soaking botanicals in wine or alcohol over time.

Infusion
Gentle extraction of aromatic compounds, often at lower temperatures.

Aperitif
A drink consumed before a meal, traditionally intended to stimulate appetite.

Support the show

For more detailed wine science checkout my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Enology_channel

Send me your thoughts at ibotezatu5@gmail.com

Madeira is one of the most resilient wines ever produced. Fortified during fermentation, intentionally heated, and slowly oxidized, it defies many of the rules that govern wine aging and thrives because of it.

In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore how Madeira’s unique production methods developed through long ocean voyages, how fortification with highly rectified grape spirit shapes sweetness and stability, and why heating methods like estufagem and canteiro create such extraordinary longevity. Along the way, we trace Madeira’s chemical evolution, its role in history and literature, and the compounds that give it aromas of nuts, citrus peel, and caramel.

This is a story of wine shaped by travel, time, and deliberate stress, and a reminder that endurance can be its own form of elegance.

Before you go, pour a glass of Madeira, taste it slowly, and share it with someone curious. Some wines reward patience more than others.

Until next time, stay curious, cheers!

Glossary

Aguardente vínica
A highly rectified, neutral grape spirit used to fortify Madeira during fermentation, typically around 95 to 96 percent alcohol.

Boal (Bual)
A Madeira grape variety used to produce medium sweet wines with caramelized fruit and nutty aromas.

Canteiro
A traditional Madeira aging method where barrels mature slowly in warm lofts, heated only by ambient conditions, often for decades.

Estufagem
A controlled heating process for Madeira using tanks or heated rooms, typically applied to younger wines.

Fortification
The addition of grape spirit during fermentation to stop yeast activity, preserve sweetness, and increase alcohol.

Malvasia (Malmsey)
A grape variety used for the richest and sweetest style of Madeira.

Sercial
A high acid grape variety producing the driest style of Madeira.

Sotolon
An aroma active compound associated with walnut, curry leaf, maple syrup, and aged fortified wines.

Verdelho
A Madeira grape variety producing medium dry wines with smoky and saline notes.

Vinho da roda / Torna viagem
Historical Madeira wines intentionally sent on long sea voyages and returned to enhance flavor through heat and oxidation.

Support the show

For more detailed wine science checkout my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Enology_channel

Send me your thoughts at ibotezatu5@gmail.com

Step into the steep, sunlit terraces of Portugal’s Douro Valley and explore how landscape, law, chemistry, and culture shaped one of the world’s most distinctive wines.

In this episode of The Wine Lab, host Dr. Andreea Botezatu traces the story of Port from the Douro’s historic demarcation in 1756 to the precise moment fermentation is stopped with grape spirit.

Follow the evolution of styles, from ruby’s vibrant fruit to the layered depth of long-aged tawnies, and learn how traditional lagares, the Benefício vineyard-grading system, and regulated aging all influence flavor and structure.

Along the way, Port’s presence in literature, art, and history comes into focus, along with thoughtful food pairings that highlight each style’s personality. A deep, engaging journey through a wine shaped by place, technique, and time.

Aguardente
A grape-derived spirit at 77% alcohol used to halt fermentation and fortify Port wine.

Anthocyanins
Pigments in grape skins responsible for red color; highly soluble in the ethanol-rich environment of Port.

Benefício System
The Douro’s vineyard classification system (A–F) that determines how much Port each vineyard is permitted to produce, based on quality factors.

Demarcated Region (DOP Porto)
The legally defined area in northern Portugal where Port must be produced to bear the name.

Foot Treading (Lagares)
Traditional method of crushing grapes with human feet in shallow granite tanks, maximizing extraction while avoiding seed bitterness.

Fortification
The process of adding grape spirit during fermentation to stop yeast activity and preserve natural grape sugar.

IVDP (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto)
Regulatory body responsible for overseeing Port production, vineyard classification, and quality certification.

Oxidative Aging
Aging process, typical of Tawny Ports, where controlled oxygen exposure develops caramel, nut, and dried fruit notes.

Reductive Aging
Aging in environments with minimal oxygen exposure, typical of Ruby and Vintage Ports, preserving fresh fruit and color.

Sotolon
An aroma compound associated with oxidative aging; contributes nutty, maple-like, or warm spice notes in Tawny Port.

Vintage Declaration
Decision by Port houses to declare a year as suitable for Vintage Port, done only in exceptional harvests.

Support the show

For more detailed wine science checkout my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Enology_channel