making your own wine vinegar, red or white

[laurenkusa]

Hi,

I am the only wine appreciator in my house and sometimes I have leftover wine. I have used it in a variety of ways but was thinking wine vinegar might be a good alternative to yet another pan souce or poaching liquid.

I have both reds and whites.

I am looking for a thread or article that may already provide the info on how to make vinegar and possibly provide resources.

Can anyone offer some help or resources?

Lauren

[CherieV]

Hi,

I am the only wine appreciator in my house and sometimes I have leftover wine.  I have used it in a variety of ways but was thinking wine vinegar might be a good alternative to yet another pan souce or poaching liquid.

I have both reds and whites.

I am looking for a thread or article that may already provide the info on how to make vinegar and possibly provide resources.

Can anyone offer some help or resources?

Lauren

←

I found this link. I work for a winery and most people make their own vinegar via this method. Someday I will try myself.

http://www.gangofpour.com/diversions/vinegar/vinegar1.html

[melkor]

Just buy some organic vinegar and wait for something that looks like a jellyfish to start growing in it. Dump the vinegar and lump of slime into a glass or clay crock and start feeding it wine. You'll need red wine vinegar mother to make red wine vinegar and white for white so buy one of each or mooch some mother off someone who is already making vinegar at home. I've got both going in my kitchen, send me a PM if you're near SF and I'll give you some of each.

[russ parsons]

i think there was a long thread on this a year or so ago. i've always got 2 going: a red wine to vinegar and then a vinegar that's finishing (my tries at white wine vinegar have not been as successful--they seem to get oxidized much more). no special equipment necessary, i use ice tea jugs from the grocery store.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Paula Wolfert wrote an article for Food & Wine on creating your own vinegar a few months ago.

Here is a link...

BTW, I followed her recipe and have a great vat of vinegar now!

[laurenkusa]

thanks for the links and responses.

I appreciate the help and the love of good food and wine everyone shares.

edited to add: do you put leftover Rose in the red or the white vinegar crock?

Lauren

Edited November 28, 2006 by laurenkusa (log)

[melkor]

edited to add: do you put leftover Rose in the red or the white vinegar crock?

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You can have leftover rose? As long as the rose doesn't make up a significant portion of the liquid in the crock I'd put it in the red one just to keep the color correct in the white crock.

[laurenkusa]

I have started my vinegar experiment, thanks to Melkor (Dave) for helping me out and to everyone for answering my questions.

Lauren

[slowpokescotty]

It is common to use a 6% alcohol wine. Or two parts 12% wine and one part water.

I make my own mother like melkor by using a vinegar from the health food store and adding some of it to a wine that has prox 6% alcohol.

acetic bacteria is killed off in high alcol wines usually although i have read that some folks do not follow this 6% rule.

Edited December 16, 2006 by slowpokescotty (log)

[jackal10]

I have a red wine vinegar crock sitting in a corner of the laundry.

I just put in the ends of bottles, often sweet or fortified wine. It seems to gobble it all, and produce superb vinegar.

[russ parsons]

It is common to use a 6% alcohol  wine. Or two parts 12% wine and one part water.

I make my own mother like melkor by using a vinegar from the health food store and adding some of it to a wine that has prox 6% alcohol.

acetic bacteria is  killed off in high alcol  wines usually although i have read that some folks do not follow this 6% rule.

←

i understand the theory, but i haven't found this to be necessary. Once in the last 10 years, I've had a batch of vinegar start to show some acetone--i added water and it recovered. For the most part, though, i make the straight vinegar, then dilute it to taste (since most wines are 13% to 14% alcohol, before watering vinegars end up being 7% to 8% acid, as opposed to 5%, which is the normal commercial strength).

[BRM]

Just buy some organic vinegar and wait for something that looks like a jellyfish to start growing in it.

←

I've also had good luck starting with unpasteurized vinegar which is available at health food stores. Vinegar is a bit like making compost..it just happens.

[laurenkusa]

BTW, the folks I bought my glass crocks from said you can finish the vinegar in oak or add oak cubes to give more flavor. Does anyone do this and what do you think of the results?

Lauren

P.S. I did not add any water to the wine, so I am hoping I am still successful.

Edited January 2, 2007 by laurenkusa (log)

[fifithewinecat]

Hey Dave-=-Check your PM, I will want to get some of your red wine vinegar mother on 1-26. Arturius

Just buy some organic vinegar and wait for something that looks like a jellyfish to start growing in it.  Dump the vinegar and lump of slime into a glass or clay crock and start feeding it wine.  You'll need red wine vinegar mother to make red wine vinegar and white for white so buy one of each or mooch some mother off someone who is already making vinegar at home.  I've got both going in my kitchen, send me a PM if you're near SF and I'll give you some of each.

←

[laurenkusa]

quick update - I am seeing some sort of an oily film on the red wine vinegar, the white wine does not seem to be doing anything yet.

the red wine oily film excites me.

Lauren

[Brad Ballinger]

For those interested, there's a much larger thread in the Cooking Forum on the topic of making vinegar.

[russ parsons]

quick update - I am seeing some sort of an oily film on the red wine vinegar, the white wine does not seem to be doing anything yet.

the red wine oily film excites me.   

Lauren

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it should, that's the beginning of the mother (i believe technically, the acetobacter that have not yet formed a cellulose clump). by now, you're probably getting all steamy ... if you're a real vinegar lover, anyway.