Foraged Fortification

Stroll into Fortnight Wine Bar in Providence and be greeted by any one of the founders, each with his or her own taste and expertise. Mike da Cruz will casually drop names of grape varietals like Hondarrabi Zuri and Godello that sound more like children’s book characters than grapes with which I’m familiar. Liz McDonnell may present you with a glass of unfiltered sparkling wine alongside her famous pheasant rillette, while Chris Norris-LeBlanc and Stuart Window pour you a taste of their favorite sour beers on tap.

It’s rare to find a wine bar that’s as charming as it is conscious: The wine selection at Fortnight is largely biodynamic and free of chemicals and additives, and little-to-zero food waste leaves the kitchen, except a few rinds and peels to be delivered home to backyard chickens.

Fortnight Wine Bar’s cocktail consultant Sam Eilertsen whips up the Uncouth Spritz, an enticing formula in the most elemental terms: Uncouth Vermouth (an aromatized wine fortified with grape spirits) served over ice, topped with sparkling water and the addition of a fresh sage wand that offers a burst of herbal pungence on the nose. Bianca Miraglia’s Uncouth Vermouth Pear Ginger (17% ABV) assumes the spotlight: savory, herbal and deeply aromatic with ginger and round juicy pear. This hyper-seasonal aperitif is made by infusing Riesling wine with farmed and foraged pears from New York State, mugwort as the bittering agent (instead of the traditional wormwood) and brandy, the sole “preservative” for fortification and no additional sweetening agents. Carve out a moment in your day to experience the euphoria of “spritz life,” when you can sit back, relax and prepare yourself for dinner.