Vermouth, vermouth, vermouth— Surfacing as one of the biggest trends in drinking in 2016, the fortified wine isn't just for martinis and manhattans anymore, and McMinnville's Ransom Wines & Spirits, headed by the famously talented and reclusive Tad Seestedt, is on the cutting edge. New producers are making fine vermouths so carefully infused with botanicals that you can sip them straight or give them the leading roll in a cocktail, and above, the Ransom video shows you how it's done in Willamette Valley.
Owner Seestedt also makes Ransom's renowned gin and whiskeys, as well as its pinot noir and other wines, and everything about Seestedt tells you he likes to do things right, from using a hand-hammered, direct-fired French alembic pot still to distill his spirits, to the fact that he has hid from publicity for years, focusing solely on making better wines and distilling better spirits.
Last November, Ransom opened a tasting room with food pairings inside the Peirano and Daughters Market in McMinnville, and along with the tasting room, the above video, filmed by videographer Michale G. Ingram, is a welcomed opportunity to get to know the Ransom story.
