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Epicurious

Universal Wine Vinegar

By Kirsten K. Shockey

3.7

(6)

A mason jar of homemade wine vinegar covered by cheesecloth surrounded by a bottle of finished vinegar and three bottles...
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Kim

This homemade vinegar recipe works with any type of wine—red, white, rosé, or a mix if you find yourself with many open bottles after a party. It’s also a great way to use wines you don’t like or ones that are corked. (This is a fault detected in bottled wine tainted by TCA, a compound that makes it taste more like wet dog than wine. The good news is these wines still make good vinegar.) Use this to make one batch, or keep the vinegar going by using some and adding more wine to the jar.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients

1 bottle (750 mL) wine
½ tsp. (2.5 mL) 3% hydrogen peroxide (if the wine contains sulfites)
1 cup (237 mL) unchlorinated water
½ cup (118 mL) raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized vinegar, or a vinegar mother

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pour the wine into a sanitized widemouthed jar. If the wine contains sulfites, stir in the hydrogen peroxide to neutralize them. Let sit for a minute. Stir in the water with a wooden spoon.

    Step 2

    Pour in the raw vinegar. Stir well; a little oxygen is good for getting the process going.

    Step 3

    Cover the jar with a piece of unbleached cotton (butter muslin or tightly woven cheesecloth), or a basket-style paper coffee filter. Secure with a string, a rubber band, or a threaded metal canning band. This is to keep out fruit flies.

    Step 4

    Place on your counter or in another spot that is 75° to 86°F.

    Step 5

    Check the vinegar in a month, when you should have nice acidity. However, it may take another month or two for the acidity to fully develop. Test the pH: It should be 4.0 or below.

    Step 6

    Bottle half the vinegar and replace with the same amount of wine for another batch. Or bottle it all and store the mother for another batch or to share with a friend. Use immediately, or age to allow it to mellow and flavors to develop.

Image may contain: Glass, Drink, Beverage, and Alcohol
Excerpted from Homebrewed Vinegar © 2021 by Kirsten K. Shockey. Used with permission from Storey Publishing. Buy the full book from Storey Publishing or Amazon.
TagsWineAlcoholBeverages

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