What do you do with all the leftover wine?

Yes, sadly at Casa Camacho we do have wine that is not finished after a few days. I was always saddened to pour these wines down the drain—it wasn’t their fault they had not been drunk. They are typically everyday wines or nice wines but definitely something we enjoyed. After some research I started to make red wine vinegar last year. The initial batch has a learning curve but after the second time (I am on my fourth), you realize it is so simple, why isn’t everyone doing it?

To start you need some leftover wine, a crock, a mother (the bacteria that transforms it), purified water and the ability to follow simple instructions.

Check out Clay Coyotee for instructions, crocks and where to buy your mother. I bought my mother here in town at San Francisco Brewcraft out on Clement Street. I still chuckle about my clever line when I purchased my mother, “So, that’s what my mother looks like.”

I stockpile my leftover wines in the wine cellar and after 3 months or so I bottle the vinegar and make more vinegar. I use red wine vinegar in simple vinaigrettes as well as punching the flavor in soups and sauces. Once you taste your own vinegar you will never buy red wine vinegar again. Let me know if you make some!!

---