Vermouth has been a long-time obsession for Embla chef Dave Verheul: He’s been serving small-batch, seasonal vermouths at Resa (Embla’s more professional sister venue upstairs) for over two years, but says the extra time he had during lockdown gave him the impetus he needed to finally release his produce commercially.
There are two Saison Vermouths in stores right now: Summer Flowers ’19 is made with marigold and elderflower blossoms, plus dried apricots, all of whose essence is extracted with pure grape spirits, then blended with organically grown (but not certified) Moscato wine and bittered with essential wormwood.
The fallen quince extracts flavour from the raw, ripe fruit and has a deeper caramel colour than those roasted in Embla’s wood-fired oven.
Interested? It’s a popular item. The first 20 dozen bottles sold out within two weeks. Verheul will be restocking their original Summer 2019 flower essences this week.
Saison vermouth is available to buy from restaurants such as Moona and Resa on the Bellarine Peninsula, as well as boutique bottle shops such as Mr West, Punchin Bottles and Moon Wine Bar.
Jemima Cody is the former chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Food magazines.