How to Make Red Wine Vinegar ??
You will need:
- Glass or ceramic crock or similar vessel
- Red Wine, without Sulphur preservative [racking the wine*]
- Water
- Oxygen – no lid on the crock
- Mother of Vinegar [bacterial starter]
Place the [racked] wine and water, at the rate of 1 litre of water to every 2 litres of wine, into the crock – then add ‘The Mother’.
Do not put the lid on the crock instead get a tea towel or something similar and using a rubber band or string secure the cloth over the opening of the crock. Place the crock in a warm dark place or put a dark covered pillow case, or something similar, over the crock to keep the light out.
Wait 3 -4 months and you will have Red Wine Vinegar.
A 350ml container of ‘The Mother’ should make about 3 litres of RWV.
You will know it’s ready when you see a of gelatinous layer floating on top of the crock.
*Racking the Wine
All commercially produced wine, unless otherwise stated, contains Sulphur. It does so because it stops the wine from turning to vinegar.
When making best Red Wine Vinegar, from commercial wine, it is necessary to ‘Rack the Wine’ before placing it in the crock.
Get two jugs, pour the wine from the bottle into one of the jugs. Then pour the wine from one jug to the other and repeat this simple process 5 or 6 times. The act of pouring [racking] aerates the wine expelling much of the Sulphur in the process. The wine is now ready to be poured into the crock.
Add your unfinished bottles of wine to a crock and make your own RWV.
Recipe taken from ‘Preserving the Italian Way’ – by Pietro Demaio.
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