B-21 on Facebook
martinis
Markham’s Glass Mountain: Second-label joy
2007 Glass Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon $7.99
Every bargain hunter loves a second label for the value and for the thrill of being in on a secret. Others might look at a price like $7.99 as not suspect anything special. Not Parker, Wine Spectator, many fine by the glass programs or anyone who knows Markham vineyards or has tasted Glass Mountain.
I met the brand some ten years ago when the Markhams had a secure position in Napa and 300 acres in top locations. They wanted to add something at a lower price but using their savvy for quality.
That’s what you get with Glass Mountain; same smart winemaking, and good cooperage as Markham using well-sourced grapes from around the state.
And, my favorite bit, always a good scoop of syrah in the reds. to add spice and weight to all the red and black fruit. The 2007 Glass Mountain cabernet ($7.99) of fruit not too heavy on the tongue. An easy cabernet that will make you smile for the flavor as well as the deal.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
What in God’s Name is Vermouth?
“The proper union of gin and vermouth is a great and sudden glory; it is one of the happiest marriages on earth, and one of the shortest lived.”
- Bernard DeVoto, Harper’s Magazine
Stock Vermouth is available in-store at B-21 for $4.99/liter (both dry and sweet)
So what is vermouth? In short, it’s a fortified wine to which herbs and spices are added. Does that clear things up? Not likely, so let’s define it further. A fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled beverage, most often brandy, is added. The original reason for fortifying wines was to preserve them since ethanol is a natural antiseptic. Other fortified wines include port, sherry, and marsala.
The word vermouth is an adaptation of the German Wermut or Wermuth, which translates to wormwood, an herb used in the distillation of absinthe. Wormwood was added to libations during the time of Pythagorus to ward off intestinal worms. Vermouth was ultimately named so by Antonio Benedetto Carpano of Turin, Italy; Carpano is also credited with the propagation of sweet vermouth in the late 18th century. With that in mind, many refer to Italian vermouth as sweet and/or rosso. Joseph Noilly bears responsibility for the creation of the dry or French style of vermouth in 1813.
Vermouth may be used in place of wine when cooking and is preferred by many due to its stability, in that its quality does not diminish as quickly as that of wine. In cocktails, vermouth acts as a moderating agent to decrease the alcohol percentage and lend mild herbal notes, altering a drink’s character without moving the flavor t0o far in one direction or another as do juices and other mixers. Vermouth experienced heavy usage in the late 19th century, when, in contrast with today’s ratios, fledgling martinis and Manhattans contained twice as much vermouth as they did gin or whiskey. The current trend shies from such generous pours. Historian David Wondrich suggests that “bartenders are taught to treat it like toxic waste.” This cocktail paradigm shift occurred in the 20th century by figures such as Winston Churchill, who purportedly bowed in the direction of France while making martinis. I tended bar many moons ago and a dry martini is widely understood to contain no vermouth at all.
Now you might be curious… where would I find vermouth at B-21? It’s on the south end of the scotch aisle… for now.
~Shawn Reynolds, B21 California Correspondent