The vermouth brands Martini and Chinzano are a kind of rivals in the production of these alcoholic beverages. They produce and supply the elite alcohol market with an almost identical assortment. Despite the fact that the first name is more common today, the history of the second brand, that is, Chinzano, is a century older.
Origin
The Cinzano brand was founded by the Italian Chinzano family in the distant seventeenth century in Turin. At that time, aromatic wines called Elixir were very popular in Italy. The family owned huge lands for the cultivation of white, red and pink grape varieties and other raw materials, such as herbs, spices, fruits, etc., necessary for the production of these tasty and aromatic drinks. Soon the wines of the Chinzano family gained immense popularity not only in the entire region, but also in Italy as a whole. After the drink was approved by the nobility of the country, it gained stunning success, and in 1703 the family of winemakers received an official license, which gave it the right to both produce and sell wine throughout the country, and then beyond.
Company History
The Chinzano brothers, however, decided not to confine themselves to their knowledge that came with practice, but entered a specialized university and only after that they began to seriously engage in the mass production and marketing of drinks. Their store was originally called the elixir shop. As qualified wine makers, the Cinzano, Giacomo, and Carlo brothers began experimenting. Each time they added a particular bouquet of aromatic herbs to the wine. Some of them gave the drink a sour taste, others - bitterness, and others, on the contrary, sweetened it. As a result of this, a huge variety of miraculous and aromatic wines was created, the most successful of which was called vermouth.
About 30 years later, Chinzano became the official supplier of this extraordinary elixir to the royal court of Italy. After that, each new generation of the Chinzano family contributed to the development of this brand, and the assortment, as well as the geography of distribution, expanded over the years.
International fame
Since 1859, the Cinzano brand vermouth began to gain fame outside of Italy. As a reward in 1861 and 1863, the company received gold medals at the Royal Wine Exhibitions in London. By this time, the Martini company also began to produce Vermouth. “Chinzano” at that time already founded production in France, and in 1922 on the American continent, in Argentina, a factory and winery was established to produce this already world-famous divine drink.
In the 70s of the last century, the Cinzano vermouth became known on all continents and even became popular in distant Oceania and in Southeast Africa. At the end of the last century, this brand began to lose its popularity, however, the company Campari Group, which bought it, returned the famous Chinzano to its former glory. 2004 was the date of the new ascent of the drink.
Martini: The Story
As already noted, this brand was founded almost a hundred years later by Chinzano. Martini is also an Italian brand that has been manufacturing products since 1847. Unlike Chinzano, its distribution around the world began to occur many times faster. Perhaps this was facilitated by the success of another Italian vermouth, which was described above. In short, a century later, Martini became the first rival to Chinzano. Where did this name come from? In 1863, three businessmen became co-owners of wine production: A. Martini, L. Rossi, and T. Sola. After that, the company became known as MARTINI, SOLA e Cia.
Company expansion
Rossi was a specialist, highly qualified winemaker and experimented to identify new varieties of drinks. He is the author of the familiar fragrant and tasty product. In contrast, Martini was not a winemaker, but he acted as an excellent commercial agent, and thanks to his enterprise, the brand began to take part in various exhibitions of international importance. In different cities of Europe, and then America, tastings were regularly held for noble persons and even members of the royal courts of Europe.
Two years later, after Martini became the head of the company, the vermouth produced by the brand received the first gold medal for quality. All this gave the entrepreneur an incentive to develop and promote him on the world market. In a matter of years, representative offices were opened in more than 70 countries around the world. Since 1879, the company became known as MARTINI & ROSSI. After 20 years, becoming the main competitor of Chinzano, Martini becomes the main supplier of Italian vermouth for the royal courts of Great Britain, Denmark, Portugal, Japan, Belgium, Austria. After that, Martini drinks became associated with a rich and luxurious life and were considered truly royal. In 1992, this Italian company merged with the Baccardi family and has since become known as BACARDI-MARTINI.
What is the difference between Martini and Cinzano?
As they say, they don’t argue about tastes. People prefer one brand to another, even without knowing anything about the differences. So what is the difference between "Cinzano Bianco" from "Martini Bianco" or "Cinzano Rosso from" Martini Rosso ". Martini drinks are thought to be less bitter than Cinzano vermouths. However, experts know that their main difference is the age of the brands. According to statistics, today the sales level of both one and the other company is basically the same. However, the assortment of Chinzano has more sparkling wines.
Nevertheless, the main production of both companies is associated with vermouth - fortified wine made from pink, white or red grapes, which is infused with spicy herbs and spices, various fruit and aromatic additives. It is noteworthy that the total number of ingredients can reach 40. Among them are vanilla, mint, cinnamon, laurel, orange peels, cardamom, ginger, etc. A distinctive feature of Martini vermouth is the content of wormwood extract in it. This, perhaps, is the difference between Martini and Chinzano.
Asti
Champagne Asti is the pride of Italy. And its manufacturer is the company "Chinzano." Champagne is made from Italian white muscat grapes, which is grown in the province of Piedmont. It is from it that Asti wine is made. This drink is already several hundred years old. The vineyards on which White Muscat is grown are owned by Chinzano. Martini also produces Asti champagne, which has gained worldwide popularity, but the Italians themselves trust the founders of this drink more. In this sunny country rich in culinary traditions, there is even a region called the Cinzano Region. Italians believe that the best champagne is Italian, which is produced by the oldest of the existing companies.
And which drink do you like more: Martini Asti or Cinzano Asti? Of course, both are just great. They are a truly royal treat, able to improve mood and give the opportunity to feel the taste of life. Only true connoisseurs are able to catch small taste nuances and realize the difference between Chinzano and Martini. Moreover, other consumers, less experienced in this matter, will never be able to distinguish one from another if they do not know that these are different drinks.
More expensive doesn't mean better
By the way, there is another difference between Martini and Chinzano, and it has nothing to do with taste or quality. Just the first is more expensive than the second. It is more hyped, advertised and is one of the favorite drinks of women of high society, which means a sign of luxurious life. In modern trading, this is a very important point. The Chinzano company, considering itself a pioneer in the production of Italian vermouth and playful wines, does not spend a lot of money on promotion, focusing on a consumer who knows the history of the brand.
The best copies in the assortment of companies
The most similar pair of drinks among the production of these two companies is Gran Dolce Chinzano / Martrini Bianco. Both drinks have a light straw hue. They are very fragrant, light and sweet in taste, have bitterness. Both are made on the basis of dry white wine. Only in the aftertaste of “Martrini Bianco” vanilla is felt, and in “Dolce” other spices prevail. Both the first and the second have a slightly tart taste - this is because of the herbs that make up the composition.
In conclusion
So what did we learn from this article? Summarizing the above, we can note that the Italian companies Martini and Chinzano are the main suppliers of vermouth in the world. The assortment of these two firms is practically no different. The only one, Chinzano produces more sparkling wines. The pioneer in this area is not the famous Martini company - one of the symbols of an expensive life, especially for women, but Chinzano, which is 90 years older than the first. We must pay tribute to the founding brothers of this brand. With their painstaking work, they were able to develop a huge number of elixir recipes (as Vermouth was called in Italy before), produce them, and also managed to bring them to the international market. In short, their path was much longer and harder.
The founders of “Martini” took advantage of the popularity that Italian vermouth gained all over the world, and it was much easier for them to follow the beaten path, since the company was headed by such a wonderful entrepreneur as Alessandro Martini. It was he who was able to conduct a competent and successful advertising campaign, rise to the highest level and make his brand a popular and most recognizable brand of elite drinks around the world. Years go by, various interesting drinks appear, and Martini continues to be a favorite drink for sophisticated ladies, while men prefer strong cocktails containing this elixir.