VERMOUTHS, SHERRIES & PORTS
VERMOUTH
Vermouth is the most versatile of the aperitifs & digestifs.
Vermouth is typically made with dry wine and dried flowers & herbs as it's base, and then it's fortified with vodka, brandy, or sherry, to preserve and give it character.
Vermouth focuses on aromatics and botanicals to aid in digestion.
Vermouth is served on the rocks or neat, with or without soda water and a slice of orange, lemon or lime.
FUN FACT:
In Spain, locals "Do Vermouth" as a late lunch and enjoy vermouth cocktails with small pintxos ("pinchos") or conservas (canned or jarred seafood, fruits, and vegetables harvested at their prime and immediately preserved in olive oil or in a natural salt or sugar brine) with fresh baguette.
Vermouth was more recently made popular as a complementary ingredient to spirits in the craft cocktail movement. Vermouth is lower in alcohol compared to pure spirits, which lends itself to sipping and enjoying with or without food or accompaniments, and can be light and fruity (for jump-starting one's appetite), dry and bitter or sweet and herbaceous (for digestion) based on the herbs, spices, and base wine and/or spirits. Just like wine, vermouth has a limited shelf life once opened, and should be enjoyed when freshest.
We offer a selection of Dry (Blanco), Sweet (Rosso), Americano (Aperitif-style), and Digestifs from Italy, Spain, France, and the U.S.
Sherries are appellation-specific to Jerez de la Frontera in the Andalusia region of southern Spain.
Sherry is typically made from the light-skinned Palomino grape and can be made in a wide range of styles - from the light, white table-wine style of Manzanilla and Fino (think: young almond skin flirts with cold, briny salt water), to the heavier, amber-colored oxidized-style of Amontillado and Oloroso. The dessert styles of Sherry typically includes Cream Sherry (a blend of Oloroso) and Pedro-Ximenez (aka "PX"), which are made of Pedro-Ximenez and Moscatel, and usually have a creamy, dark viscosity, almost like molasses, with similar deep flavors and color.
Sherry is aged in the Solera system, where new wine is put into wine barrels at the beginning of a stacked pyramid series of barrels each year, blending a portion of each layer of barrels above with the barrels below. Each barrel creates a protective layer of yeast, called 'flor', which helps prevent from over-oxidation, and lends to Sherry's distinct flavors. Sherry is aged in the solera for a minimum of two years, and many soleras in Jerez house sherries that have been blended and aged for well over 20 years.
Sherries are typically enjoyed simply, in a white wine or digestif glass, by themselves as an aperitif or digestif or with an appetizer or dessert/cheese course - although a sherry-cocktail is wonderfully refreshing on a hot summer's day!
Ports are appellation-specific to the Douro Valley in northern Portugal.
Port wine is typically a syrupy-sweet red (ruby) or toffee-flavored amber (tawny) fortified dessert wine. Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside of Portugal, including the U.S., Australia, France, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina, and Spain. Only port from Portugal can be labeled as Oporto, Porto, and Vinho do Porto, to recognize their Portugal roots and appellation.
Port is typically served by itself, either with, or as dessert.
Vermouth is the most versatile of the aperitifs & digestifs.
Vermouth is typically made with dry wine and dried flowers & herbs as it's base, and then it's fortified with vodka, brandy, or sherry, to preserve and give it character.
Vermouth focuses on aromatics and botanicals to aid in digestion.
Vermouth is served on the rocks or neat, with or without soda water and a slice of orange, lemon or lime.
FUN FACT:
In Spain, locals "Do Vermouth" as a late lunch and enjoy vermouth cocktails with small pintxos ("pinchos") or conservas (canned or jarred seafood, fruits, and vegetables harvested at their prime and immediately preserved in olive oil or in a natural salt or sugar brine) with fresh baguette.
Vermouth was more recently made popular as a complementary ingredient to spirits in the craft cocktail movement. Vermouth is lower in alcohol compared to pure spirits, which lends itself to sipping and enjoying with or without food or accompaniments, and can be light and fruity (for jump-starting one's appetite), dry and bitter or sweet and herbaceous (for digestion) based on the herbs, spices, and base wine and/or spirits. Just like wine, vermouth has a limited shelf life once opened, and should be enjoyed when freshest.
We offer a selection of Dry (Blanco), Sweet (Rosso), Americano (Aperitif-style), and Digestifs from Italy, Spain, France, and the U.S.
Sherries are appellation-specific to Jerez de la Frontera in the Andalusia region of southern Spain.
Sherry is typically made from the light-skinned Palomino grape and can be made in a wide range of styles - from the light, white table-wine style of Manzanilla and Fino (think: young almond skin flirts with cold, briny salt water), to the heavier, amber-colored oxidized-style of Amontillado and Oloroso. The dessert styles of Sherry typically includes Cream Sherry (a blend of Oloroso) and Pedro-Ximenez (aka "PX"), which are made of Pedro-Ximenez and Moscatel, and usually have a creamy, dark viscosity, almost like molasses, with similar deep flavors and color.
Sherry is aged in the Solera system, where new wine is put into wine barrels at the beginning of a stacked pyramid series of barrels each year, blending a portion of each layer of barrels above with the barrels below. Each barrel creates a protective layer of yeast, called 'flor', which helps prevent from over-oxidation, and lends to Sherry's distinct flavors. Sherry is aged in the solera for a minimum of two years, and many soleras in Jerez house sherries that have been blended and aged for well over 20 years.
Sherries are typically enjoyed simply, in a white wine or digestif glass, by themselves as an aperitif or digestif or with an appetizer or dessert/cheese course - although a sherry-cocktail is wonderfully refreshing on a hot summer's day!
Ports are appellation-specific to the Douro Valley in northern Portugal.
Port wine is typically a syrupy-sweet red (ruby) or toffee-flavored amber (tawny) fortified dessert wine. Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside of Portugal, including the U.S., Australia, France, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina, and Spain. Only port from Portugal can be labeled as Oporto, Porto, and Vinho do Porto, to recognize their Portugal roots and appellation.
Port is typically served by itself, either with, or as dessert.