How to Make Ice Wine Vinegar
Ice wine vinegar--a thick, sweet-sour vinegar--is taking the culinary world by storm. Chefs in the know use it to drizzle on shellfish or thicken and serve as a unique, sweet-sour dessert sauce. Ice wine is the wine made after grapes are frozen. When they're pressed, the ice crystals separate from the juice, making the wine concentrated and sweet. In northern climates, this happens naturally; elsewhere, winemakers freeze their grapes in a special freezer after harvest. Ice wine vinegar is expensive and hard to find, but you can make your own. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Buy ice wine from an online source or at a vineyard. Since there are some restrictions on using the name "ice wine," you may have to check around. Your best deal may be called "late harvest dessert wine." Ask the grower or winemaker if the grapes have been frozen and pressed.
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Pour the wine into a non-metal crock, bowl or pitcher. Cover with cheesecloth to prevent bugs and dirt from getting into your wine.
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Keep the wine at room temperature. According to Ohio State University, the wine should be kept between 60 and 80 degrees F.
Stirring daily will speed up the process; so will adding a piece of pasta. The wine will literally get wild yeast from the air to make it ferment into vinegar. -
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Test the vinegar every day to see if it has reached the desired consistency and taste. You will see a mat of dense material forming. This is the "mother," and is valuable. Once you have it, you can speed up the vinegar process by adding it to future batches of ice wine.
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When you like the taste (It may take as long as 2 months), pour the beverage into sterile glass containers. Put the containers into a water bath and bring gently to 140 degrees F. Let it cool at room temperature, cap tightly and store at room temperature.
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Tips & Warnings
Ice wine vinegar may be slowly reduced by half in a saucepan and used as a sauce for ice cream or fruit. Or you can make a salad dressing with shallots, olive oil and a little mustard.
Do not cover the wine until it has completely fermented. It has to be open to catch the wild yeast..
