Vermouth

How it’s made: Late harvest Viognier fermented dry (16% alcohol) and then fortified with grape neutral spirits to 18% alcohol.  Racked to neutral barrel and infused with herbs (rosemary, mints, sage, and oregano to name a few), spices (coriander, cinnamon, and peppercorns to name a few), other stuff, wormwood and roots (dandelion, angelica, and gentian to name a few).  There are 30 different ingredients.  It has been aged three years in barrel.

Inspiration for the name: It’s Vermouth

Inspiration for the image: V for victory, V for Vermouth.  Image was provided to us by Tom Adler.

Doug’s Notes: Slightly oxidized, nutty, floral and complete with a complex array of interesting constructs as the wine swirls and changes temperature and shape.

Uses:  Alone as an aperitif, used for fish stock or as distinctive part of the Margerum Santa Manhattan.  Three parts Margerum Marc of Santa Barbara, one part Margerum White Vermouth, one part Margerum Amaro, a slash of lemon juice and a twist of lemon – shake well and pour into a chilled (with soda water) martini glass or served on the rocks.

75 cases produced

Limited availability.

Wiki Background:

Vermouth is an aromatized wine, a type of fortified wine flavored with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, spices). The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid to late 18th century in Turin, Italy. While vermouth was traditionally used for medicinal purposes, its true claim to fame is as an aperitif, with fashionable cafes in Turin serving it to guests around the clock.  However, in the late 19th century it became popular with bartenders as a key ingredient in many classic cocktails that have survived to date, such as the Martini, the Manhattan and the Negroni. In addition to being consumed as an aperitif or cocktail ingredient, vermouth is sometimes used as an alternative white wine in cooking.

Vermouth is a common cocktail ingredient, particularly in Martinis and Manhattans. When drinking vermouth by itself, it is normally an apéritif.  Vermouth is used as an ingredient in many different cocktails, as people found it ideal for lowering the alcohol content of cocktails with strong spirits as their base, for providing a pleasant herbal flavor and aroma, and for accentuating the flavors in the base liquor.