Any vinegar makers here?

[mamaluv321]

I've started my first batch of white wine vinegar and have a few questions: how long until I feed it? I ask because I have a 5 gallon bucket half full of wine (long story). Also, I read that I can "inoculate" the wine w/ some vinegar until I have enough mother to feed it to. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[Marianne]

I got nuthin. I'm only on my second batch of ACV. I haven't gotten brave enough to try anything else yet..in the way of fermenting, etc.

 

[valmom]

Well, I've done apple cider vinegar and once red wine vinegar from a left over bottle of wine. I have to say, the wine turned by itself, just left out in the warm. I suppose you could innoculate it with mother from some apple cider vinegar to speed things up, but I don't really know what else I would do to help it turn.

 

[ORChick]

Not sure I understand what you mean by *feeding* it. Vinegar isn't like a sourdough starter that needs to be fed periodically to remain active. Wine, on its own would turn to vinegar if it weren't treated with sulfites (but most wine is); the sulfites will keep it from turning, without a bit of help from you. (Just read Valmom's post about her red wine turning on its own - that is unusual; the wine usually just goes bad. But white wine, from what I have read, is even less likely to turn on its own from its pre-treatment before bottling, so a kick start with live vinegar bacteria is almost essential IMO) What I did to get white wine vinegar was to add about a cup of unpasteurized ACV to a bottle of cheap-ish white wine - in my case it was homemade ACV, but it doesn't have to be, as long as it is unpasteurized. The bacteria in the ACV kick start the process, and counteract the effect of the sulfites. I ended up with white wine vinegar that had a certain amount of apple flavor, but the next batch I used a cup of the apple/white wine vinegar as the starter, and proceeded like that for subsequent batches. Don't taste any apple now. If you have a vinegar mother you could use that instead; it doesn't really matter what sort of vinegar it grew in, just add it to your white wine. You say you have quite a bit of white wine. If you have a large enough container I would think you could add a smaller percentage of the live vinegar, and would end up with more wine vinegar and less apple (if that is what you start with). When making vinegar make sure your container lets air in, and that the liquid's surface is fairly large (i.e. - if using a gallon jug only fill it about 2/3 full, so that the liquid has a wide surface area, not up to the neck of the jug). Unlike wine (for drinking) vinegar needs contact with air. But cover it with some gauze or cheesecloth to keep out dust and insects. The process will probably take several months.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Wifezilla]

I got some wine from a neighbor that was starting to turn, put it in a crock, and added some sludge from the bottom of a jug of raw ACV. Then I had some mead go bad on me and added that too. it is about half way to vinegar and all I do is stir it up once in a while to add oxygen.

 

[valmom]

We buy wine without sulfites when my SO is going to have any- sulfites are a migraine trigger. So our left over wine went pretty well.

I make my vinegar in a mason jar and just cap it and shake it a bit, uncap, let more air in, and shake again every day or so to get more air into it. I suppose you could stir it if it is in a big bucket, but I would make sure the stirrer wasn't going to introduce any contaminants.

 

[mamaluv321]

By feeding it I just mean add more wine so I can get a bigger batch of vinegar. I thought I'd be able to slowly add more of this 2 1/2 gallons of white wine but I think it might be starting to go bad, smells a lil off...I just don't want it to get the wrong bacteria.

 

[ORChick]

By feeding it I just mean add more wine so I can get a bigger batch of vinegar. I thought I'd be able to slowly add more of this 2 1/2 gallons of white wine but I think it might be starting to go bad, smells a lil off...I just don't want it to get the wrong bacteria.

I'm not sure if you will get a usable product if the wine is "off", but I really don't know. If you want to try I would use all the wine at once, adding - as mentioned above - some live vinegar as a starter; use several containers if necessary, making sure each has starter and enough surface area. I have read that you can add wine to an established vinegar jug or cask to keep it going, but I find it easier to start a new jug when the present one gets low. Maybe if I had a small barrel, with a hole on top, for adding new wine, and a tap at the bottom, for drawing off what I need, I might try that. But I use 3/4 gal. jugs.

 

[mamaluv321]

By feeding it I just mean add more wine so I can get a bigger batch of vinegar. I thought I'd be able to slowly add more of this 2 1/2 gallons of white wine but I think it might be starting to go bad, smells a lil off...I just don't want it to get the wrong bacteria.

I'm not sure if you will get a usable product if the wine is "off", but I really don't know. If you want to try I would use all the wine at once, adding - as mentioned above - some live vinegar as a starter; use several containers if necessary, making sure each has starter and enough surface area. I have read that you can add wine to an established vinegar jug or cask to keep it going, but I find it easier to start a new jug when the present one gets low. Maybe if I had a small barrel, with a hole on top, for adding new wine, and a tap at the bottom, for drawing off what I need, I might try that. But I use 3/4 gal. jugs.

I wanted to do the whole bucket at once but I didnt have enough starter; I was told too much at once would just kill the mother. Oh well, it was free wine and we drank A LOT before deciding to turn the leftovers into vinegar!

 

[~gd]

Well, I've done apple cider vinegar and once red wine vinegar from a left over bottle of wine. I have to say, the wine turned by itself, just left out in the warm. I suppose you could innoculate it with mother from some apple cider vinegar to speed things up, but I don't really know what else I would do to help it turn.

Do not cork it and mix in air when ever possible it needs air to turn to vinegar. Cover with cheese cloth or old stockings to let air in but keep "bugs" out. Moderate heat will help it turn faster too.