Commune of Buttons Vermut NV

Commune of Buttons Vermut is a Chardonnay-based vermouth made with herbs foraged at Basket Range.

It began as a Chardonnay experiment in 2021. Jasper Button ran a still over a parcel of 2020 wine, then used the resulting spirit to stop a small 2021 Chardonnay ferment while it still held 30 grams per litre of sugar. Botanicals came from the property itself — herbs picked around the garden and the bush beyond it, each steeped separately as a tincture for as long as it needed before going into the blend. Two years of ageing followed, split evenly between barrique and tank. Wine, spirit and herbs all from the one hillside, which almost no vermouth can claim.

Serve it cold, straight from the fridge, over ice with a twist of orange and a splash of soda. There is enough sweetness to carry a Manhattan or an Americano, though the foraged herbs are worth meeting on their own first. Keep it refrigerated once opened.