🥃 Sherry vinegar

Sherry vinegar is a Spanish vinegar made from sherry and aged by the solera system. It comes from Andalusia, from the "sherry triangle" between the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María.

First the wine is turned into vinegar by acetic acid bacteria. Then the vinegar is aged in barrels on the solera principle: part of the aged vinegar is drawn off and younger vinegar is added to the barrels. This way years of ageing are blended in every barrel.

The vinegar is dark and rich, with a nutty taste and mellow acidity. It is more complex than ordinary wine vinegar. It is used in salads, sauces, stews and even desserts.

Sherry vinegar is close to wine vinegar and to balsamic, but has its own method. It is tied to sherry itself: the same wine and the same barrel system are used. So Spanish wine lives on in the kitchen.