Stocking Up On Wine (Vinegar)

I’ve read this in many food publications, and have always been astounded how few people I know, who love to cook, use this trick. In my large family of home cooks, it appears to me that, when there’s a good bottle of wine leftover, and it turns into vinegar, it gets dumped down the sink. Many a time have I cringed when watching a beautiful red becomes drained down the garbage disposal, rather than being used as an ingredient.

‘But it’s old wine! Why would you ever use it as an ingredient?’ you might be asking, and probably are. As I’ve attempted to explain many a time, that old wine turns into vinegar. You’re probably looking at your screen, blankly, not knowing where I’m taking this, and that’s okay.

It took me a while to figure it out, too.

And, finally, it seems a few parts of my family are figuring it out, too.

If red wine or white wine turn into vinegar, then you already have wine vinegar on hand. In fact, if you have more than one bottle of wine-turned-vinegar in your refrigerator, then you have more than one type of flavoring for pasta sauces, deglazing a pan, or turning into a reduction for your lamb chops. 

It’s already vinegar. It’s the same thing as ‘red wine vinegar’, only better, because at some point, you would have loved to drink it straight from the bottle. Most red wine, or white wine, vinegar you find in the store is either too old to drink, has passed its expiration date, or was discarded from wineries because it was viewed as too inferior to sell. This means that, your old wine that’s been sitting around in your fridge, or in its own basket, can be deemed as better than the stuff that’s been specifically labeled what is to be specifically used in food. 

One rule I love to use while cooking is, ‘If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it.’ This applies to bourbon, gin, and, sometimes, even tequila, while I’m using it in a sauce for steak, or any other food that calls for alcohol. Most other alcohols don’t turn into vinegar, even though most of them come from various types of fermentation. That makes wine special, especially when, with other liquors, you need to cook the ‘tipsy stuff ‘off of them to make sure you don’t, well, get tipsy… or drunk… while you’re eating.

If you see ‘cooking wine’ anywhere in print, remember that stuff you have in your fridge, and make a beeline for it. You might need to cook off the alcohol first, but, if you don’t mind, just replace it outright — whether it’s already vinegar or not.

What else would you want to use your leftovers on, anyway? What better than pasta sauce, whether it’s a pesto with a bonus, or a tomato sauce, or a vodka sauce, or a cream sauce, or an any type of sauce? 

Not all cooking wines are created equally, but, sometimes, you really do need specifically vinegar, not only for taste, but also for qualities like texture, or a way to leaven something like a bread or a cake. That’s why you need to be keeping as many bottles of wine-turned-vinegar in your refrigerator as you can possibly have room for. Keep a sticky note on each bottle with the date it was opened, and the date it turned, on it. Keep track of when the wines taste the best, when they turn to vinegar, and when you believe the vinegars taste the best.

And, if that’s too much, and you have no time, just pay attention to which ones are vinegar, and which ones aren’t.

Your cooking will thank you.