Wine is alchemically transformed into vermouth through the addition of botanicals: aromatic and flavorful plants. To make Z Line Vermouth, we steep plants in brandy for several days to extract their scents, and then mix the filtered tincture into the wine. All of the botanicals in this year’s vintage were growing wild on Sam’s farm,…
Tag: Vermouth
Z Line Vermouth: The Botanicals
Vermouth: Aromatized and Fortified Wine Vermouth can be aromatized with any botanical product, which makes for a vast and rich field of possible flavors. When I set out to collaborate on a vermouth with family friend and farmer Sam Merwin, I knew the botanicals would tell a story: a story of his family’s farm and…
Vermouth Storytelling: ASFS 2020
It has become a familiar feeling in 2020: the wrenching heartbreak of hearing a long-awaited in-person gathering has been cancelled. Even if one knows it to be the only choice, it stings to mourn the loss of one more thing. That’s why I was delighted when when my favorite annual Food Studies conference was moved…
Z Line Vermouth: Photo Essay
Many folks only know of vermouth as ‘other part’ of a martini. The dusty, little-known bottle on the shelf of almost every bar might be identified by a single tasting note: dry or sweet. But, oh, all the things vermouth can be! Vermouth is a fortified and aromatized wine, meaning: wine with extra booze and…
Z Line Vermouth: The Recipe
Ingredients 100 pounds chardonnay grapes, harvested on a cool night 5 grams of Pinot Grigio yeast 1 gram SO2 4 bottles applejack or grape brandy 1 jar dichondra seeds[1] 1 jar safflower 1 jar mandarin peels 1 jar wild anise flowers 2 cups dried alfalfa 5 teaspoons wormwood 4 cups safflower and wild blackberry honey…
Ariana Gunderson 