We tried these two Vermouths Sat w/ wine friends:
1. Matthiasson Vermouth Flora YountMillVnyd/NapaVlly (17.0%; http://www.Matthiasson.com) 2011: Rather orange/brown color w/ lots of fine/flocculant sediment; very aromatic rather herbal/earthy/Kansas hay mow bit weedy/musky/citric bit alcoholic quite exotic nose; some alcoholic off-dry very herbal/Kansas hay mow/quite orangey/weedy exotic/perfumed flavor; very long/lingering orangey/stewed apples/mango liquer rather herbal/Kansas hay mow/musky/weedy finish; quite an interesting/exotic herbal Vermouth w/ lots of perfume. $31.00/hlf (Cure)
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2. Massican il Vermouth di Friulano TocaiFriulano NapaVlly WhiteWine (15%) Calistoga 2011: Light yellow/gold color; very perfumed hair oil/Vitalis/spoiled milk carton bit herbal/dusty quite exotic/complex nose; tart rather tangey/orangey herbal/hair oil/Vitalis/BrylCreme bit spoiled milk carton near-dry quite aromatic/exotic flavor; very long/lingering Vitalis/hair oil/perfumed/herbal quite tangy/orangey perfumed/exotic finish; very exotic aromatic wine. $32.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Matthiasson: This is the wine of Steve & Jill Matthiasson. Acording to their WebSite: "neutral grape spirits to make infusions of fresh blood orange zest, sour cherries, coriander, cardoons, chinchona bark, wormwood, and blessed thistle". "Blessed thistle" is a Medditerean herb most well known for "usage with female related problems".
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2. Massican: This is the wnry of DanPetroski, who specializes in Friulian-style wines. I believe his Tocai comes from the Nichelini vnyds in ChilesVlly. The wine had a slight lactic character,
a bit like a empty carton of milk that you left out on the countertop at room temp for several days.
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3. Vermouth: Was, at one time, a method of salvaging spoiled wines by infusing it w/ various/proprietary herbs/botanicals/barks/etc. Nowadays, it is generally made from a neutral/sound wine. It exists in either a dry or a sweet verrsion, white or red. Mostly commonly it is used as a flavoring in cocktails. I often like to cut it w/ a bit of sparkling or tonic water. It, like passito wines, is a genre that should be more thoroughly pursued in Calif.
Tom