Red wine vinegar
Red wine vinegar, or aceto di vino rosso, is a wine-based acidic condiment used to dress Tuscan panzanella.
Photograph · Aceto di vino rosso
- Italian name
- Aceto di vino rosso
- Base
- Red wine
- Tuscan recipe
- Panzanella
From wine to vinegar
Wine vinegar is made by acetic fermentation of wine. Acetobacter bacteria transform an alcoholic liquid in the presence of air, producing its acidic character. Red wine is the base for red wine vinegar; production methods and the starting wine affect the finished vinegar.
In Tuscan panzanella
Giulia Scarpaleggia’s panzanella recipe for Visit Tuscany combines softened stale bread, ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and basil. After adding salt, freshly ground pepper and a generous dressing of extra-virgin olive oil, it calls for a little red wine vinegar. The vinegar is unmeasured: the recipe gives no spoonful or millilitre amount.
Cook with it
Questions worth asking
Is this the same ingredient as white wine vinegar?
Both are wine vinegars, but red wine vinegar uses red wine as its base. The panzanella recipe cited here explicitly names red wine vinegar.
How much goes into panzanella?
The Visit Tuscany version adds a little red wine vinegar to the dressed salad. It does not specify spoonfuls or millilitres.
