What Is Estate Vermouth? Prophet’s Rock’s New White and Red
What is vermouth?
Vermouth is an aromatised, fortified wine: a base wine to which alcohol has been added, flavoured with botanicals. Under European law its characteristic taste must come from Artemisia, the genus that includes wormwood, and wormwood gives the drink its name, which reaches English through the French vermout from the German Wermut. Vermouths are made both sweet and dry.
Why do estate fruit and a single vintage change a vermouth?
Because the botanicals are strong, a vermouth has usually owed most of its character to its tinctures and recipe, and little to the vineyard. A vermouth built on a wine grown for its own sake is a different proposition: the base brings fruit, texture, and acidity of its own, and the botanicals are arranged around it rather than laid over the top.
The vintage matters as much as the estate. Because each vermouth is built on the wine of a single year, it carries the character of that season through its base, and not only the house style of its recipe.
Prophet’s Rock’s two name a single grape, a single estate and a single year on the label: Pinot Gris 2024 for the White, Pinot Noir 2024 for the Red. They are not single-vineyard in the strict sense, since the Pinot Gris is drawn from more than one of the estate’s sites, but they are single-estate and single-vintage, made from the same Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir the estate bottles as wine: hand-picked, fermented on indigenous wild yeast, and matured on lees.
What does Prophet’s Rock White Vermouth, Pinot Gris 2024 taste like?
Built on estate fruit that would have gone into our top Pinot Gris, and bottled at 18% alcohol, our White Vermouth is white gold with a pale lime-green tinge. Its aromas run through florals, citrus, Provençal herbs, and spices from star anise to clove. Citrus leads the palate, spice sits beneath it, and the ripe pear of the Pinot Gris comes through clearly. Under all of it is a subtle briny salinity. It is the more aperitif-leaning of the two.
What does Prophet’s Rock Red Vermouth, Pinot Noir 2024 taste like?
The Red Vermouth, built on estate Pinot Noir and bottled at 17%, is the deeper and more warming of the pair: a vibrant ruby with a pale rose rim, its aromatics layering cinnamon, nutmeg, and five-spice over dried herbs, deep cherry, violets, and rose. The palate is warm, structured, and rich, with cherry, rosehip, orange zest, and liquorice. Its botanicals include a hint of horopito, a pepper-leaved shrub endemic to New Zealand, and wormwood shows on the finish.
How do you serve Prophet’s Rock vermouth?
Both are complete enough to drink on their own, chilled or over ice, as an aperitif or after a meal, and the red is very good alongside cheese or dessert. Restaurants are pouring both as pairings on their degustation menus, a measure of how far each travels beyond the cocktail glass. Or, mix it up. Here are a few of our favourite vermouth cocktails.
Red Negroni (Prophet’s Rock Variant)
- 1 part gin, ideally a straight London Dry rather than anything too assertive on the botanicals. Fords works well.
- 1 part Pampelle, the ruby grapefruit aperitif from Corsica. Using this in place of Campari is what makes the drink.
- 1 part Prophet’s Rock Red Vermouth
Build over the largest ice cube you have. Express a piece of grapefruit peel over the top and drop it in.
Manhattan (Prophet’s Rock Variant)
- 2 parts Armagnac
- 1 part Prophet’s Rock Red Vermouth
Stir over ice until properly chilled, then strain into a cocktail glass, or a small brandy balloon. Garnish with a maraschino cherry, ideally a Luxardo.
White Negroni (Prophet’s Rock Variant)
- 1 part gin, ideally a straight London Dry
- 1 part Luxardo Bitter Bianco
- 1.5 parts Prophet’s Rock White Vermouth
Build over a large ice cube with a piece of expressed grapefruit peel. For something softer, stir over ice and strain instead.
Martini
The White Vermouth slots right into a classic Martini without adjustment, and the ripe pear and salinity give it real presence.
Aromatic Boost G&T
A double of gin, a single of Prophet’s Rock White Vermouth, topped with tonic and a lemon garnish. It lifts an ordinary gin and tonic more than you would expect.
White Vermouth Spritz
A generous measure of the White Vermouth over ice, topped with soda, and slices of citrus.
Frequently asked questions
What is vermouth?
Vermouth is an aromatised, fortified wine: a base wine to which alcohol has been added, flavoured with botanicals. Under European law its characteristic taste must come from Artemisia, the genus that includes wormwood.
Where does the word vermouth come from?
From wormwood. The word reaches English through the French vermout, from the German Wermut, the name for wormwood.
What is estate vermouth?
A vermouth built on wine grown on the producer’s own estate. Prophet’s Rock’s White and Red Vermouths are made from the estate’s own Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, each from the 2024 vintage.
What grapes are Prophet’s Rock vermouths made from?
The White Vermouth is built on Pinot Gris and the Red Vermouth on Pinot Noir, both grown on the Prophet’s Rock estate in Central Otago.
How strong is Prophet’s Rock vermouth?
The White Vermouth is 18% alcohol and the Red Vermouth 17%.
What botanicals are in Prophet’s Rock Red Vermouth?
Among them are horopito, a pepper-leaved shrub endemic to New Zealand, and wormwood, which shows on the finish.
How do you drink Prophet’s Rock vermouth?
On its own, chilled or over ice, as an aperitif or after a meal, or in cocktails such as the Negroni, the Manhattan and the Martini. Restaurants also pour both as pairings on their degustation menus.
Can Prophet’s Rock vermouth be delivered outside New Zealand?
Not at present. For now, the vermouths can be delivered only within New Zealand.