Vermouth which owes its name to the German term Wermut defining the plant Artemisia Absinthium has ancient roots. In fact, a recipe for vinum absinthites, made with herbs, appears in manuscripts dating back to the first centuries A.D. when it was touted as a remedy for stomach and intestinal problemslts medicinal use continued in subsequent centuries, and, as the Renaissance began, the greater availability of Oriental spices throughout Europe led to the recipe's enrichment with new aromatics, like cinnamon, cloves and rhubarb.Starting in the mid-fifteenth century, Piedmont producers acquired a reputation for making finedistillates distillates, and by the eighteenth century, Torino's liquors were widely celebrated. It was there that the Vermouth di Torino we know today began its evolution from medicinal tonic to popular aperitif in the same period that the city began to see the opening of distilleries, liquor shops and apothecaries'.

In 1736 the pharmaceutical codex "Pharmacopea Taurinensis"describes Vinum Absinthites, composed of wormwood blooms and roots of the sweet flag (Acorus calamus).Turin liquor producers and confectioners were registered with the Turin University of Liquorists and Confectioners, a confraternity of artisans and craftsmen that brought together all the producers of the new liquors, who would make Piedmont's enviable reputation in the sector in years to come. They created the new recipes of aromatized wine and bottled the first Vermouth di Torino, a sweet, balsamic, alcoholic and long-lasting beverage.

The new beverage began to be appreciated outside of Turin as well, but full-blown success came only in the mid-nineteenth century, when it was first exported, first to France and Spain and then outside Europe, mainly to Latin America, where there were numerous communities of Italian migrants from Piedmont, and the United States, where it was immediately ushered into the cocktail culture. In the middle of the century there were 42 companies selling distillates and 30 liqueur producers in Turin, who added luster and prestige to the then capital of the Kingdom. The first advertisement for the new vermouth made in Turin, dates back to 1833 and describes the beverage as different from all the others, dubbing it "the genuine balsamic wine known as Vermouth di Torino". From then on, it was generally acknowledged that the Savoy's capital city had developed a different style, sweeter and more aromatic. In the first years of the twentieth century, "white Vermouth made its debut, with a lighter hue and more floral and citrus notes: a hit with women at cafés, it earned the nickname of "ladies' delight"and marked a genuine market revolution. The twenties saw the rise in popularity of "red Vermouth", with the addition of caramel coloring, a nod to the American market.

The Italian legislation regarding Vermouth begins with the Royal Decree-Law of 9 November 1933, n. 1696, which provides general indications in order to characterize the product (minimum alcohol content, sugar content, percentage by volume of the base wine and added substances). The first community regulation that identifies geographical indications for aromatized wines is EC Regulation no. 1601 of 10 June 1991, which for the first time recognizes and protects the Vermouth of Turin.