The three types of vermouth pay homage to traditional styles but with a distinctly local sensibility. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
You’ve probably had vermouth in a cocktail and never thought twice about where it comes from, but martinis are set to become a local affair as Mount Majura Vineyard launches its own range of vermouth.
Vermouth is a fortified wine traditionally made in Italy, France and Spain by adding spirits to wine and steeping with botanicals to enhance the flavour. The word vermouth comes from the German wermut, meaning wormwood, a plant that gives vermouth its bitter characteristics.
Mount Majura sales and marketing manager Fergus McGhie told Region that the idea for making a vermouth had been floated a few years earlier by owner Frank van de Loo, but it was shelved while they focused on other projects.
“Then we looked around at our team and realised that we now have the palates and the experience to do it right, so we backed ourselves,” he said.
“Traditionally, the botanicals might be steeped in the combined wine and spirit, and sometimes barrel-aged as well. But we wanted to have a little more control, so we steeped each botanical individually in the base spirit. We started with about 30 options and then whittled it down from there.”
Vermouth is a key ingredient in a classic martini. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
While they aimed to produce a product on par with classic European vermouths, the team also wanted to introduce a mix of native botanicals (commonly used in the Australian distilling industry, particularly for gin).
In addition to traditional botanicals like olive leaf, juniper berry and dried blood orange, they’ve also included native sarsaparilla, lemon myrtle and finger lime. In fact, the lemon myrtle leaves that went into the final blend were sourced from a backyard in Aranda!
Using pipettes to refine the balance of spirit, botanicals, and wine, a rigorous testing and tasting process was conducted to get the flavours just right.
“We took them home and tried them out in different cocktails, and had our friends and families taste them as well,” said Fergus.
“There’s definitely a winemaker’s sensibility to how we’ve approached it, but I think we’ve ended up with something really great.”
The result is three distinct products.
Seco is a dry and floral white vermouth with olive leaf, coriander and native lime botanicals. In a classic martini (made with a local Canberra gin, of course), it is delicate and balanced.
Blanco is a well-rounded and citrus-forward sweet white vermouth with cinchona, lemon myrtle and dried makrut lime. It’s perfect in a spritz or over ice.
Rojo is a sweet, red vermouth with a bold, spiced profile flavoured with blood orange, gentian root and cinnamon. Sweet red vermouths are often drunk over ice with a slice of orange, and the Rojo also works well in a Negroni.
Third-year student Casey Melloh had her design chosen for the vermouth bottles. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The Mount Majura team partnered with University of Canberra graphic design students to develop the vermouth labels as part of their coursework. Fergus said they were blown away by how great the designs were, and they found it very difficult to choose. The top three designs won a cash prize, and the winning design is now on the official Mount Majura vermouth bottles.
Casey Melloh is a third-year Graphic Design and Visual Communication student at UC, and her retro design was chosen as the winner.
“I looked into the art deco movement and the underground cocktail culture of the 20s and 30s. And I took some retro inspiration from old vermouth bottle designs,” she told Region.
“I also work at a cocktail bar, so I added cocktail recipes on the back as a value-add. I wanted it to be the kind of bottle you’d keep after you’ve finished the drink.”
University of Canberra students designed labels as part of their assessment. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The bold red, orange, and blue design will make an eye-catching addition to any bar, and Fergus said they’ve already had interest from local venues keen to stock the vermouth. Cin cin!
Find out more about Mount Majura Vineyard’s Vermouth.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
