wein.plus
Attention
You are using an old browser that may not function as expected.
For a better, safer browsing experience, please upgrade your browser.

Log in Become a Member

Campari

The best-selling bitter liqueur in the world was invented in Italy in 1862 by the entrepreneur Gaspare Campari (1828-1882). He called it "Bitter d'Olanda". In German, this means "Holländisch-Bitter", because the so-called bitters were very popular with the Dutch. In 1867, he then opened his café "Duomo" in Milan. In 1904, the first Campari production plant was opened in Sesto San Giovanni in Lombardy. Under the management of the founder's son Davide Campari, exports began, first to France but soon also overseas. Campari is still produced today according to a secret company recipe. Allegedly, only president Luca Garavoglia, with the help of the technical director and a few employees, produces the basic concentrate. Luca Garavoglia is also the only person in the world who knows the complete original recipe. Around 80 ingredients are used, such as herbs, roots and fruits. A few well-known ones are cinchona bark, ginseng, pomegranate, substances of the cascarilla tree, rhubarb, orange peel and citrus oil.

Campari - Campari Bitter, Etikett, Cordial Campari, Campari Soda

First, a decoction is produced in large barrels (50 hectolitres) of Slovenian oak. In this process, the water-soluble aromatic substances are leached out with boiling distilled water. After three days, pure alcohol is added to extract the alcohol-soluble aromas. After about 20 days, the decoction has a strength of about 70%. Now the decoction is dosed and mixed with sugar solution, distilled water and alcohol. Afterwards, the decoction is clarified with crystallised egg white and after a few weeks, it is clarified by filtration. The crimson colour comes from a nowadays synthetically produced tasteless dye. After one month of storage in glass-lined tanks, the bright red, tart-sweet and spicy final product is ready. The alcohol content varies between 20.5 and 28.5 % vol. depending on the country, in Germany it is 25 %. The higher-alcohol white "Cordial Campari" is no longer produced. Campari is usually enjoyed neat on ice, but is also used as an ingredient in many cocktails and long drinks.

In 2002, the large spirits house Zedda Piras in Sardinia was bought, which owns the largest share in the company Sella & Mosca. In 2014, the Italian spirits producer Fratelli Averna (brands Averna, Braulio, Grappa Frattina) was acquired and in 2016, control of the Société des Produits Marnier-Lapostolle (owner of the liqueur brand Grand Marnier) was taken over. The co-acquired Chilean wine business was sold at the beginning of 2017. The Italian wine business had already been sold in 2016. The product range includes wines, sparkling wines, distillates and fruit juices. The portfolio includes Aperol, Cinzano, Cynar, Dreher, Glen Grant, Grand Marnier, Old Smuggler, Ouzo 12 and Skyy Vodka. Today, Davide Campari-Milano is one of the world's market leaders in alcoholic beverages. See also under largest wine companies in the world.

Source and pictures: WIKIPEDIA Campari
Campari Bitter: By Khayman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Label: By Adolfo Hohenstein, Public domain, Link
Cordial Campari: By MiniaturenMeister - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Campari Soda: CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

Voices of our members

Thorsten Rahn

The Wine lexicon helps me to keep up to date and refresh my knowledge. Thank you for this Lexicon that will never end in terms of topicality! That's what makes it so exciting to come back often.

Thorsten Rahn
Restaurantleiter, Sommelier, Weindozent und Autor; Dresden

The world's largest Lexicon of wine terms.

26,379 Keywords · 46,984 Synonyms · 5,323 Translations · 31,713 Pronunciations · 202,114 Cross-references
made with by our author Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer. About the Lexicon

EVENTS NEAR YOU

PREMIUM PARTNERS