![]() “I’m working with a farm in Vacaville, Umbel Roots, to start the first culinary California sagebrush farm.”ĭuring his years of experimentation, O’Halloran spent one year trying to ensure the vermouths made with native ingredients could be sold at affordable prices. “Our dream is always to stay native-focused to represent our terroir,” he said. A UC Davis-developed white wine grape clone served as the base of the two vermouths. From a family of farmers with 90 years of experience, he sourced sun-dried California Black Mission figs. From the Carolinas, he sourced golden cane sugar that was caramelized to balance the bitter and sweet. Thanks to the support of ranchers, O’Halloran was able to forage for the wild herb along the hillsides of Carmel Valley. You cut it, and it splits and grows back better. It’s a woody shrub, almost like a rosemary bush. “I knew that smell from the Monterey Peninsula,” he said. Instead of the wormwood (Artemesia absinthium) traditionally used in European vermouths, he substituted a native California species of Artemesia, known commonly as California sagebrush (Artemesia california ). Classic Sweet Vermouth and Extra Dry Vermouth. It took O’Halloran three years of experimentation - including 300 herb extract trials across 100 recipe batches - to create the first small-batch production last summer of the Rockwell Vermouth Co. and there are quite a few old classic cocktails that call for vermouth.” “Manhattans and negronis were my favorite drinks. “It was weird opening a bottle (of wine) when she wasn’t able to drink,” he recalled. He recently had switched to drinking cocktails rather than wine, and most called for vermouth, an aromatized, fortified wine flavored with botanicals such as roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs and spices. Winemaker Birk O’Halloran of Santa Rosa has a passion for making wine with old-vine zinfandel and grenache grapes that reflect the potent terroir of California, with its rich soils and heat.īut when his wife was pregnant with their first son six years ago, the proprietor of Iconic Wines in Geyserville started toying with the idea of also making a vermouth that would evoke the North American landscape. The Vya Whisper Dry Vermouth was added in 2011. The line launched in 1999 with the Vya Sweet and Vya Extra Dry Vermouth. Vya Vermouth, from Quady Wines of Madera, is made from a blend of grapes grown in the San Joaquin Valley. Helena makes both a Tricheri Rosso and a Tricheri Dry vermouth based on the original 1890s Trincheri family recipe from Piedmont, Italy. It recently won a gold medal in the Sommeliers Choice Awards 2021. Sei Querce Wines of Geyserville makes an organically farmed Sei Querce Vermouth from a variety of white grapes fermented and aged in French oak barrels, then fortified with grape brandy and infused with grapefruit, Meyer lemon, fennel angelica root, marjoram and other herbs. Scribe Winery of Sonoma makes a Scribe Winter Vermouth from estate chardonnay and a touch of pinot that is fortified with grape brandy and infused with lemongrass, dill and grapefruit peel. Mommenpop of Napa makes a line of aperitifs (similar to vermouth) from grapes, citrus and spices. Matthiasson Wines of Napa makes a Matthiasson Sweet Vermouth using as the base wine 80% flora, a cross between semillon and gewurztraminer. Massican Winery of Napa makes a Massican Dry White Vermouth inspired by the Italian vermouth made in Piedmont by the Cinzano family in the 18th century. Many of these wineries make limited-production vermouths, which tend to sell out early.
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