A Thousand Gods
I like to think that when Simon Sharpe and Lauren Keenan heard they'd been named The Real Review Rising Star of the Year, they cried out "miladiou!"
The two recently became neighbours when Scapegrace built their Bendigo distillery next to the Prophet's Rock Rocky Point vineyard.
Winemaker Paul Pujol quickly seized the opportunity to further a long-held desire to make vermouth with a strong fine wine.
The dry white vermouth is made with Prophet's Rock Pinot Gris aged in barrel on gross lees for around 10 months, with elderflower, wild thyme, dandelion, kānuka and grapefruit botanicals, while the red is a sweeter style based on the Rocky Point vineyard Pinot Noir, aged eight months in the barrel, with rosehip, cherry, horopito, kanuka and orange.
Pujol says the small parcel, single vintage approach not only reflects the ethos of Prophet's Rock but is also a key part of the vermouths.
"I wanted to make something that was still quite 'winey', reflecting the vineyard and vintage, that would drink really well by themselves and work in classic cocktails."
