CUCKOO FOR COCOA: Two young entrepreneurs, heirs of Piedmontese families which have made history, have teamed so as to add a latest, unexpected and engaging twist to vermouth: Cocoa beans.

Ettore Fila, son of Giansevero Fila, who established the Fila Sport fashion brand in 1969, has partnered with Orsolani 1894, helmed by Gianluigi Orsolani, for a new edition of the fortified wine.

Fila has been leading the Wool and Chocolate confectionery brand, aimed toward preserving — and updating — the pastry-making tradition of the Piedmont region in northern Italy, where he was born and raised. The reference to wool also reflects the region’s storied expertise in processing the material — hence the name for the primary Wool and Chocolate Vermouth, where clearly there is no such thing as a trace of any yarn.

The entrepreneur has been making a business out of the signature canestrello Biellese, a biscuit product of two layers of wafer enveloping a stuffing of dark chocolate.

The royal Savoia family began to advertise the vermouth industry from the top of the 18th century, turning Piedmont right into a key producer of the drink.

“My idea was to mix two Piedmontese excellences in food and beverage to supply consumers an unprecedented experience with two traditional specialties: the Biella canestrellino, which Wool and Chocolate for the primary time presented within the mignon and dark chocolate format, and the Turin vermouth,” Fila explained. In Gianluigi Orsolani, he said he found “the identical values of absolute quality and respect for the tradition in innovation.”

Orsolani’s grandfather Giovanni Orsolani returned from America and founded in 1894 the winery that makes a speciality of the production of dry white wines and desserts made out of the Erbaluce grape within the Canavese area of Piedmont.

The Wool and Chocolate Vermouth, produced with the Erbaluce grape variety, with 21 percent alcohol content, is obtained through a mixture of herbs and fragrant spices, including wormwood, artemisia, cinchona, citrus fruits and cocoa beans in response to a formulation created to accompany the canestrellini, handcrafted by Wool and Chocolate in response to the unique nineteenth century recipe.

That is the primary time that the concept of a “gastronomic vermouth,” combined with a food type, has been launched, in response to Fila.

Orsolani said that the preview of the vermouth at Vinitaly, the most important wine exhibition on the planet that was held in Verona last month, was “successful, appreciated by each Italians and foreigners. We expect a really positive response to our made-in-Piedmont match.”

The limited-edition vermouth was produced in 400 bottles that retail at 25 euros each. Starting this month, they will likely be available on the Wool and Chocolate website.