This summer I visited Turin and Pessione Italy with Martini vermouth. The distillery hosts the Martini visitors' center and museum, and in this post you can read about how Martini vermouths are made.

On one particularly lovely day, our group piled into cars and drove around the countryside to see the local herbs used to make the vermouth.

We turned off into one field where we saw many local herbs growing: a few varieties of wormwood, chamomille, cilantro, and the very aromatic local peppermint.

Then we stopped into a farm cooperative where Martini sources many of the botanicals for the vermouth. Helpfully they set out fresh and dried herbs that go into the vermouth, so I snapped shots. In the case where I found both the dry and the fresh version of the herb, I've put them together in the image- click the thumbnail to expand.

Artemisia Absinthim: They grow three types of wormwood locally.

Artemisia Pontica (Roman wormwood):

Artemisia Valesiaca:

Artemisia Volgare (Mugwort):



Roman Chamomille:

Gentian Root, Gentian Flowers:

Iperico (St. John's Wort):





Hyssop:



Melissa (Lemon Balm)

Menta Piperita. This is the highly-aromatic local peppermint.

Santoreggia (Savory):

Tarassaco (Dandelion):

Salvia Sclarea (Clary)

Hopefully that will be a useful guide to some herbs used in vermouth and other drinkables.