Thursday, March 28, 2024

Almost all vinegar production in Spain is produced in Andalusia

March 9, 2021
Almost all vinegar production in Spain is produced in Andalusia

In fact, here are the three D.O.P (Protected Designation of Origin) of vinegar: D.O.P. Sherry Vinegar, D.O.P. Condado de Huelva Vinegar and D.O.P. Montilla – Moriles Vinegar. The word vinegar, gets its name from the Latin, vinum acre, “sour wine”, and is basically acetic acid diluted in a percentage between 3% and 5%.

Natural vinegars also contain small amounts of tartaric acid and citric acid.

We are only going to talk about wine vinegars (there are many types of vinegar: cider, rice, etc.) ,vinegars that come from fortified wine.

Like most good things, they say it was discovered by accident about 12,000 years ago. I imagine that some barrel of wine would turn “sour” for leaving it in contact with oxygen too long, that is, for not paying enough attention to it and the vinegar magically emerged.

Although its culinary uses are fantastic and wonderful, it really became famous for its antiseptic and disinfectant properties.

To explain well how to make vinegar “grosso modo” we could say that in the fermentation of wine, what basically happens is that the sugar is converted into alcohol and to make vinegar in the classic way (there are many ways to get vinegar), it is made by the action of acetic bacteria that transform alcohol into acetic acid.

The first written testimony of the use of vinegar that we have was for gastronomic purposes and comes from the cookbook “de re coquinaria”, of Apicius.

Our vinegars are highly appreciated outside our country for their production, regulation and for their value for money, mainly in the United Kingdom, USA and Asia.

In our three D.O.P., it has different requirements from each other and that make the difference with other types of vinegars or production areas:

Sherry Vinegar, which can only receive this qualification when it is obtained from must or wine with Denomination of Origin Jerez and Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It must be aged in barrels that can range from six months to two years, depending on whether the final product will be Sherry vinegar or Sherry reserve vinegar.

The great reserve min 10 years. They also have PX sherry vinegar and muscatel sherry vinegar. “Criaderas and Solera” system, for those of vintage minimum age 2 years.

In Huelva they also use their wines.

They admit vinegar without aging, they are the “Vinagres del Condado de Huelva”. With aging they have the “Vinagre Viejo Condado de Huelva”, which can be solera (min 6 months), “Vinagre del Condado de Huelva Reserva” (min 2 years), these two with “Criaderas and Solera sistema”. Old Vinegar Condado de Huelva Vintage (min 3 years).

In Montilla – Moriles they produce vinegars with musts or wines from the area protected by DOP Montilla Moriles.

In this area we find Crianza vinegars in “Criaderas and Solera” system, more than 6 months in wood; Reserve more than two years Gran Reserva, with a minimum aging of 3 years, and Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel vinegars.

There are even vinegars that have rested in wood for more than 10 years, you can find them for up to 75 years.

Vinegar is a great product for our body included in the Mediterranean diet and the best of all that is that it is accessible and cheap. We do not have excuses