Buttery

Used to describe a wine that has an AROMA and flavor reminiscent of butter. Buttery aromas and flavors in wine are the result of DIACETYL, which is a by-product of MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION.

Vermouth was first created in England as an inexpensive liquor meant to be an after-dinner treat.

Answer: False.

The martini would be nowhere without Italy’s Piedmont region, where vermouth was first created and commercially sold in the 1700s. Vermouth is a red or white wine that has been infused with a secret blend of more than a hundred aromatic spices, barks, bitter herbs, and flavorings, such as angelica, anise, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, quinine, rhubarb, and saffron. Before it was banned in the early 20th century, wormwood was also added (vermouth comes from the German word wermut, or “wormwood.”) After the wine is infused, it is then fortified to raise the alcohol content to 15-21 percent. While red vermouth is generally sweet, its white counterpart can be dry or semisweet.

“On one particular occasion, André [Tchelistcheff] and I were visiting Sancerre [in France’s Loire Valley], specifically Didier Dagueneau. But before we arrived at the winery, André told us to stop by the road. He got out and walked over to the vineyard, bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt in his hands, rubbed it and then told me to do the same. Then he said, ‘Smell it because that is what you will smell in the wine.’ And he was right. When we tasted Didier’s ‘Silex,’ I was overwhelmed by the aroma and unique mineral character in the wine.”

—Rob Davis, winemaker at Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley, California, talking about his mentor, the late André Tchelistcheff, who is considered the father of California winemaking

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