ABOUT
Wine, grape brandy, spices and demerara sugar come together in a powerful vermouth with deep intense fruitiness, a pronounced bitterness and subtle herbal notes
What's Dionese's vermouth made of
LOCAL WINE AND BRANDY
The wine and brandy that are the base of Dionese's vermouth come from small producers in the Finger Lakes, NY.
New York is the third wine producer in the U.S. and despite being a giant in the industry, most of the wineries in the State are small and family owned.
New York landscape and climate is particularly favorable for white wine making, and white wine is the base of traditional vermouth.
So, this is a great environment for making a white wine based product when valuing working with local, high quality produce, and small, artisanal producers.
CERTIFIED ORGANIC SPICES
The spices used in vermouth play a very big role in the product character.
Each producer chooses them based on personal preference and on what's available in the area. And this selection will determine the amount and type of bitterness, florality, spiciness and herbality.
Dionese's is made using a bouquet of eleven organic spices, each selected for its unique properties and flavor profile, sourced in the U.S., Central America and the Mediterranean.
DEMERARA SUGAR
Sugar is a very important ingredient in vermouth, is necessary to balance the bitterness of some of the spices used, and this bittersweet balance is what gives personality to the vermouth.
Here the sugar of choice is demerara, raw, unrefined, caramelized cane sugar which has an intense flavor, adds color, and is known for its good nutritional values.
NO COLORANTS, NO ADDITIVES
The grape brandy used for fortification acts as a natural preservative, and the color comes naturally from the spices and the demerara
The birthplace
The Hudson Valley, home of Dionese's vermouth, is the land around the Hudson River, that stretches from New York City to Albany, a land known for its fertile soil, hills and forests, and its farms and farmers markets, wineries, cideries and breweries.
A leader in the farm-to-table movement, it's local farmers and producers embraced the concept of sustainable farming, and sourcing local and high quality ingredients.
The packaging
The bottle is made in the U.S.A. in an ergonomic shape which is easy to grab thanks to its long and smooth neck, making it very bartender friendly, especially when used at a bar in a fast paced environment. The skinny build allows for easy placement anywhere in the speedrail and the neck size fits perfectly the standard size speedpourers. The high quality glass safeguards the bottle from breaking and its amber color protects the vermouth from excessive sunlight ensuring a long shelf life
Wine Spectator
Dionese's vermouth was featured on the May 2024 issue of Wine Spectator
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/vermouth-ultimate-guide-and-explainer
The vermoutier
FRANCESCO DIONESE
From Piemonte, north west Italy
"I got into the bartending world in 2001 when, at age 19, I left my hometown in Italy to explore the world and landed in London, a city that was embracing the cocktail culture intensely, and was soon to become one of the cocktail capitals of the world, home to some of the best bars and bartenders of that time.
I started bussing tables at bars and clubs while learning English. While collecting dirty glasses I admired those guys behind the bar throwing bottles and crafting amazing drinks while entertaining the crowd in front of them, and I promised to myself "one day I will be one of them"
I became a bartender and have been in the industry for over 20 years. During my career in bartending I learned and got to experiment with the crafting of various of the ingredients we bartenders need for our concoctions, from bitters to liqueurs, syrups and vermouths. I focused particularly on vermouths being the bittersweet and herbal flavor profile typical of the beverage one that I exceptionally appreciate and that makes it a great ingredient in cocktails. So I have been making various types of vermouths for the bars I worked at and for competitions. In 2016 I won the regionals in New York City at the "Master of the Manhattan" competition using my vermouth"
https://www.barbizmag.com/recipes-2/the-best-manhattan-in-new-york-city/
Stable Gate Winery
"In 2022 I met Valerie Feldman, a sommelier and mead producer, owner of Stable Gate Winery.
Val and I share the same values when it comes to our craft, among them quality and local, we work with producers from New York State and we source the best ingredients available for our products, and the production is made by hand every step of the way.
A partnership for the commercial production of my vermouth was forged, and thanks to it, Dionese's vermouth has now its place in the speedrails of bars, on the shelves of liquor stores, in the cabinets of cocktail aficionados"
Francesco Dionese