Dolin is credited with creating the first 'sweet' white vermouth with the launch of its Dolin Blanc Vermouth de Chambéry in 1881, but it wasn't until Martini & Rossi created Martini Bianco in 1910 that other producers widely adopted this style of vermouth. It took nearly another hundred years before this style of vermouth became frequently used by the world's cocktail bartending fraternity.

European Economic Community, regulation 1601/91 stipulates semi-dry and semi-sweet styles of vermouth, determined sugar levels and alcohol content:

Semi-dry: between 50 and less than 90 grams of sugar per litre.
Semi-sweet: between 90 and less than 130 grams of sugar per litre.