Serves: n/a
Cost: n/a
Preparation time: 4 weeks
Calories: n/a
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #0B0B61;”]Okay, we’re on to the last “quick” recipe which I wanted to share with you. I’ve been meaning to post this since Christmas but kept forgetting. Here it is now though! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a big drinker – I enjoy the odd red wine, a glass of white every now and again, sometimes a spirit, but generally I don’t drink a lot. We had a bottle of Champagne at Christmas, but what to do, after I’ve had a glass and a half, my wife a few sips, and we’re due to leave for our winter vacation the next day? It seems such a shame to waste it, it’s hardly the cheapest liquor after all, so we decided on the only logical course of action. Vinegar!
The “recipe” is barely a recipe, but I thought it’s worth a post anyway. Good champagne vinegar isn’t cheap either, and I know for sure that I’ve probably poured unwanted champagne down the sink before where I could have been making something delicious, and free, for my next vinaigrette!
I’ll be back in a couple of days with something new – until then, I hope you’re all having a wonderful week!
Champagne Vinegar
Ingredients
- Unwanted, leftover Champagne
You’ll also need
- A Mason / Preserving Jar
- A Cheesecloth
Instructions
- Wash and dry your Mason or Preserving Jar and transfer the leftover Champagne into the jar. Take your Cheesecloth and fold it over a few times and then cover the top of the jar with it. Secure it to the jar with a string or elastic band. Place in a cool, dark, dry place for ~4 weeks. After this time, transfer the vinegar to a bottle with a stopper or screw-cap and use as you would normal vinegar. Enjoy π
Sissi says
Wonderful idea, Charles! So surprising, but also so logical: many people make home wine vinegar, so why not champagne? Especially if it’s a bad one π (My problem with good champagne is completely opposite: we are joking with a friend of mine who also loves champagne that one bottle is not enough for two people… I start considering magnums π )
I am wondering what is the difference in the end result between a white wine vinegar and a champagne vinegar? Is there any?
Great post! I must do vinegar either with bad champagne or wine. It would be a nice addition to my jars of preserves and home alcohols π
Charles says
Hi Sissi,
Haha – probably is, for me – I drink the champagne so slowly that by the time I’ve finished the first glass the bottle is no longer cold and it’s no longer pleasurable to drink. I think the good thing with a champagne vinegar is that it still tastes quite “champagney”, even when turned to vinegar completely, so you still get some benefits of the original drink, taste-wise.
I think I would like to try making red wine vinegar next time, although ideally for “flat” wines you need a vinegar mother to get best results!
ping says
That’s it?! Gosh, I could do that π … I think.
Naw … I could never do that. I’d never have unwanted or leftover champagne at any time! Got anything for white wine or red wine? Can I do it this way with those? That would be very useful indeed.
Charles says
Hi Ping – you can do it with white or red wine, though I think for best results you need a vinegar “mother” – some bacteria to get it going. You can sometimes get these from the bottoms of vinegar bottles… they’re like little cloudy clumps of “mush”.
A_Boleyn says
It sounds like making yogurt, where you use a tablespoon of the old batch to inoculate the new batch. In this case use a tablespoon (or however much is required) of the lees at the bottom of the wine vinegar bottle to start the fermentation on the new one. If only I HAD a partial bottle of leftover champagne. π
Sharyn Dimmick says
Hi Charles. We pour open red wine into a bottle of red wine vinegar and have kept vinegar going for months this way. As for the flat champagne, I used to make a lovely sorbet out of it: just add some sugar and freeze it in your ice cream machine (it doesn’t freeze terribly hard). Add a little fruit or Cassis for a variation.
Charles says
Hi Sharyn, that sounds like a fantastic sorbet, though I’d need to get an ice-cream machine :D. I usually stick it in a tub and stir it around every couple of hours while it’s in the freezer.
Chopinand @ ChopinandMysaucepan says
Dear Charles,
I love recipes that don’t need much effort and yet it miraculously becomes the end result π
This is literally wine turning into vinegar and with the amount of wine wasted here in Australia, there should be a lot more delicious vinegar and good vinaigrette dressings going into salads!
Charles says
Thanks Chopinand – nothing is quite as satisfying as having a salad made completely from scratch, vinegar and all π
kristy says
I can’t tell you the number of bottles of Champagne we don’t finish. (Although I usually save them for a mamosa the next day.) I love a good Champagne, but Mike and I just have a hard time finishing a bottle ourselves. I do like a good Champagne vinegar though and the simplicity of this is beautiful! Lovin’ your fast and simple recipes this week and can’t wait to see what you have cooked up for later this week. π
Charles says
Thanks Kristy – you sound like you have the same problem as me – I don’t normally drink champagne because of this – my wife drinks almost nothing so it’s basically a bottle to myself. As a result it’s either the vinegar route or just chicking it, which is a terrible waste considering it’s pretty pricey π
Eva kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com says
We usually have some champagne left over too; it’s not something I can drink a lot of (unlike wine, of course). My mom’s red wine vinegar used to get that ‘mother’ at the bottom of the bottles, but to be honest, I haven’t seen anything like it in years. I wonder what they are doing to the vinegar that prevents that from happening. Next time I have left over champagne I shall definitely try this. Thanks Charles.
Charles says
Hi Eva, I find almost all my vinegars end up with the mother in the bottom – maybe they treat some in a certain way to stop the bacterial… er… I don’t know what the process is actually… fermentation maybe?
Jen says
Wow Charles! It’s som simply wonderful and easy! I’m doing this next time I have left over champagne π
Charles says
Thanks Jen – I hope you enjoy it π
Linda says
Not finish a bottle of champagne?? hello??? Okay, I suppose if I opened TWO bottles and the 2nd one did not get finished….
Seriously this is a great idea! Years ago when I was married and threw tons of parties, I’d take the leftover wine and make vinegars with them – white and red separate of course. I’d drop in some herbs too for a bit of flavor. So I totally agree with you, if you’re unable to finish the bottle, don’t toss it, make vinegar!!
Charles says
Thanks Linda – I love you idea of adding in some herbs. For the regular red/white wine – did you just use the wine on its own? I heard that it’s best to use a mother but maybe it’s not necessary – I never tried!
Linda says
Yes Charles, there was a starter I used. I was given it from a chef that I was taking a cooking class from. I really don’t remember what was in it, it was many years back but your post reminded me of that and I’m going to see if I have some notes from him. I’ll let you know!!
Kelly @ Inspired Edibles says
Charles, you know me, I’m all about simplicity – I even post bird seed for goodness’ sake! :). I had no idea I could make champagne vinegar this easily… and although I would rather drink the champagne π I’m actually thrilled to have this recipe… you know what cracks me up, the avocado post that went up today, I had originally fashioned it a bit differently with a champagne vinaigrette featuring, you guessed it, champagne vinegar! (but not homemade) – I’m telling y’a, there’s a collective vibe in our blogging community. The universe is a wonderful place.
Charles says
Haha – I actually had no idea at all you could eat hemp seeds like that – It’s so fun to learn such things! By the way, were you serious about buying it from pet shops? Surely not, right? Maybe you were making a funny which whooshed over my head π
betsyb says
Like Linda before me, I’m amazed at the idea of not finishing a bottle of champagne! In fact, we have a special stopper to keep that second bottle good for the next day! π
I was unaware how easy it is to make vinegar like this, and I do have recipes calling for champagne vinegar but don’t want to pay the cost. I guess prosecco would work just as well? I’m definitely going to try it with leftover wine, thanks!
Charles says
Hi Betsy – good idea! I think prosecco would work really well – I love that stuff!
bakingaddict says
Simple and brilliant. One question though – unwanted, leftover champagne? I doubt it would be a frequent occurrence π
Charles says
Haha, well – I guess some people do indeed drink more than others. Maybe I should start buying the mini bottles of champagne π
kyleen says
This is such a good idea! I don’t drink (yet anyways), but I love baking/cooking with alcohols. I’m definitely going to have to ask my parents to spare a cup of champagne next time they open a bottle.
Charles says
Thanks Kyleen – hehe, if they’re anything like my parents they’ll be aghast at the prospect of turning “perfectly good champagne” into vinegar, but I hope you get the chance to try it. Maybe you can ask them to get you another cheaper, sparkling wine to try it with?
Barb @ Profiteroles & Ponytails says
Well, wonders never cease. Who knew it was that easy to make your own vinegar? The hardest part for me will be not finishing the bottle of champagne….as I just love the stuff. Perhaps it would work with a bottle of prosecco, as it isn’t as pricey??? Good one Charles!
Charles says
Thanks Barb – I think it would definitely work with prosecco! As for finding it hard not to finish the whole bottle… haha, I think that’s a common theme amongst the visitors here π
Ann says
That’s brilliant, Charles! I thought once champagne turned to “vinegar” it simply meant that it was spoiled….I had NO idea you could do something with it! Thanks!
Charles says
Hi Ann, no no – absolutely not! If you have a “vinegar mother” lying around as well you can stick that into the champagne for an even richer flavour. You need to make sure you leave it exposed to the air for long enough. Too short and it’ll just take like really gross, sour champagne. Too long and it may begin to mould. 4 weeks is a good time-frame before you should bottle it up!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Charles, I love all your recipes but this is one that I won’t get a chance to make as I never have left over Champagne. It is my favorite choice for an aperitif.
Charles says
Hi Karen – absolutely… if my family were larger, or I had more opportunities to serve champagne I think I’d never have a chance to try this too… I do enjoy it, in small quantities. So light and indeed, a perfect aperitif!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Really? This is such a cool recipe. Glad you share it even though you think it’s not a recipe! People like me greatly appreciate it. I’m not much of a drinker too, and often champagne could be toss away (my husband is a drinker but not much of a champagne drinker). I’ll be forever thankful. I love vinegar (see my post today! ;-)), and this is great!
Charles says
Hi Nami – thanks so much for your kind comments. I was hesitant to post about it. The photos are… a bit boring, and it’s hardly the most exciting recipe to follow, but it seems quite popular, and it’s fun to make too!
Liz says
What an amazing idea! My hubby drinks beer and I drink only a bit of wine now and then, so we always have leftovers. I tend to freeze extra wine for cooking, but I’m definitely going to get into the vinegar making! Thanks so much for this technique~
Charles says
Thanks Liz – I never tried freezing wine before, except in a sorbet or something. Does it freeze well? Let me know if you make some vinegar, I’d love to know what you think!
Greg says
You may have to explain the concept of unwanted champagne to me. Ha, this is another very cool idea.
Charles says
Haha, yeah – I can imagine… you manage to find beautiful uses for your champagne and other alcoholic beverages already, but it’s still fun to try! π
mjskit says
What a fantastic idea! I have a half bottle of white wine that went flat so I’m going to get this started tonight! I love making my own vinegar but didn’t know it was SO easy to make champagne vinegar which I assuming, the same method would work for white wine. Thanks for sharing such a great idea!
Charles says
Thanks MJ – I hope it turns out ok! If you have a “vinegar mother” you can add that in as well which will speed the process along as well as modifying the flavour slightly as well!
Pure Complex says
I know they’re all kinds of vinegar, but I never heard of champagne vinegar before. It definitely intrigues me :). I can’t wait to share this with my mom
Charles says
Hi Kay! Now I just need to find a way of making my own balsamic vinegar! I could just drink that stuff!
Christy says
Haha, you’re not the only one with backdated posts, I definitely have more!:p
This is such a refreshing idea; I mean champagne vinegar? I can’t even believe how amazingly short this is, too bad I can’t take alcohol :p
Charles says
Thanks Christy – you should find that the alcoholic content of the vinegar is very low, and besides, you’d never drink it in any large quantities since it is, after all, vinegar!
Glad you had a good trip – nice to see you back!
Suzi says
Fabulous idea Charles. I am going to have to rememeber this. Thanks for sharing your tip with us.
Charles says
Thanks so much Suzi! Hope you get a chance to try this π
Hotly Spiced says
I’m catching up on your posts because the internet went down this week causing me no end of angst.
Really??? That’s all you need to do? I thought for sure more ingredients would be required. I should give that a go except we tend not to have too much champagne left over. You know what they say about Aussies!
Charles says
Haha, thanks Charlie – the only other (optional) ingredient is a “vinegar mother”, which can help develop the flavour a little, but this isn’t required, at least definitely not with champagne!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Homemade champagne vinegar?!? You’ve gotten my vote, again Charles! π
Charles says
Thanks Kiran – it’s perfect for salads!
Stefanie says
What a wonderful use for leftover champagne!!! Looks great π
Charles says
Cheers Stefanie – it goes really well with a bit of avocado and some olive oil – yum!
Sharyn Dimmick says
Hi Charles. Sans ice cream machine, you could make champagne granita in an ice cube tray (the kind with a separate divider, not a plastic one): same ingredients, different texture.
Charles says
Mmm, they both sound nice, though an ice-cream machine has been on my list of “to-buy” for a while… I might have to get one!
Robert-Gilles Martineau says
Perfect in a vinaigrette for steamed white-flesh fish!
Charles says
Ah definitely – with some lovely chopped dill!
Sydney Jones says
What an absolutely incredible idea Charles π I can only imagine the taste it would have!
Charles says
Thanks Sydney – it makes a very light, fruity vinegar – really yummy!