Words by Simon Difford
Any product based on wines that have been fortified with spirit and flavoured with herbs and spices is an 'aromatized wine'. There is a very fine and somewhat misty line between vermouths and aromatized wines but the main difference, according to European law, is that vermouths must contain wormwood - although the species and quantity is not specified.
Adding sugar to an aromatized wine would also mean the result was a vermouth.
