Sutton Cellars Brown Label Vermouth

Proprietary aperitif wine. Labeled a vermouth, but not imitative or comparable to any traditional style and does not contain wormwood. An example of the “Western Dry” style of New World, wine-forward aromatized and fortified wines. As of this writing, distribution is limited to a couple regions (San Francisco and Boston). 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.