VYA Extra Dry Vermouth

Proprietary artisanal muscat-based aperitif wine from Quady Winery, Madera, California. Labeled a dry vermouth, but does not contain wormwood and does not fit in with the European style. One of the progenitors of the “Western Dry” style of New World wine-forward aromatized, fortified wines. Fortified aperitif wines is an abstract category for a manufactured wine* product with added brandy or neutral spirits and some form of bitter herbal flavorings incorporated through maceration or blending with tinctures. The bitter herbal components—which may or may not be particularly evident to taste—are the defining characteristic because they stimulate the production of gastric acids and thus, prepare the imbiber for eating. *Many fortified aperitif wines are not technically wine-based, but mistelle-based: grape juice with the added distilled alcohols as an alternative to fermentation. Although such examples do not undergo fermentation, they are still traditionally categorized with other wines.