Partida Creus “MUZ,” Natural Spanish vermouth perfect for warm evening sipping – Dave’s Wine Cellar

Like most Americans, vermouth has never been a big favorite for me.

Sure, it’s an essential ingredient in a classic Negroni cocktail. But drink it straight up? No, thanks. Typically, it is either too sweet or too bitter or both at the same time.

Part of the great fun with wine, however, is making discoveries that change your opinions. Such is the case for me after discovering an incredibly special vermouth called Partida Creus “MUZ” Vermouth Natural, produced by Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa from their winery near Barcelona, Spain.

A 1-liter bottle goes for around $40 nationally according to www.wine-searcher.com.  Also available in Pittsburgh at Solera Wine Co. in Lawrenceville.

A bit pricey? Perhaps.

But trust me, once you start sharing this well-chilled vermouth on a warm evening, the first bottle will empty quickly and you’ll be reaching for another to share. As with all Partida Creus’ wines, it is singularly delicious and refreshing.

Building a great vermouth

Architects by training, Marchiori and Gerosa grew up in Piedmont in Northwest Italy. Coming from families with agricultural roots, the partners bonded over a deep connection to and love for the land. Marchiori’s maternal great-uncle, who was a professional winemaker in Piedmont’s Monferrato subregion, influenced him greatly.

“In those days, all the wines we made were natural. We only used organic products in the vineyards,” Marchiori recalls in a documentary made by filmmaker Vincent Staropoli for Partida Creus’ American importer, Selections de la Viña.

In the 1990s, the couple moved to Barcelona in Spain’s Catalonia region to work as architects in the city’s vibrant urban real estate market. Yet, the slower agricultural life still beckoned.

So, in 2000, Marchiori and Gerosa bought a small farm about 40 minutes south of Barcelona in the Penedès, an area best known for its sparkling wines. The farm featured olive and almond trees scattered among the Mediterranean scrub of aromatic wild herbs. The couple’s goal was to produce organic foods for themselves.

As they began clearing tangled scrub and trees to grow vegetables, they discovered overgrown grapevines — indigenous local varieties such as the red-skinned Garrut (a close relation to Mourvèdre) and Sumoll, a drought-resistant, black-skinned grape that had fallen practically into extinction on international markets. Only the numerous wild boars on the property had an interest in the grapes at the time.

Marchiori and Gerosa resolved to reuse the sorry and neglected vines to begin making wines for their own enjoyment. As for boars, Marchiori reached a détente by providing organic feed to distract them from the grapes. When one grows large enough, Marchiori harvests it for pork.

As they enjoyed both the pork and homemade wines, Marchiori and Gerosa committed to go further with the wines.

“We decided only to make wines with local varieties, and we started buying parcels of old grapevines that others had practically abandoned in favor of more popular international varieties,” Marchiori recalls. “Local grape varieties have been linked with this place for centuries. They offer the best expression of this place.”

One thing led to another, and they found other folks enjoyed their preferred style of wines, too. Eventually they left their city jobs and founded Partida Creus to sell the wines commercially in 2007, finding a small, but intensely loyal international following.

“The most important thing is to feel what you do, and then do it with love,” says Marchiori, who has no formal winemaking background other than learning from his uncle.