Castello di Volpaia's Red Wine Vinegar comes from red wine made from a blend of Sangiovese and Cannaiolo grapes. It has a rich, penetrating aroma, assertive acidity (7.5%), and full-bodied flavor with notes of oak and berries. Uses: add to a classic vinaigrette, marinate white beans, make pickled onions, or deglaze roasting pans.
Castello di Volpaia uses a traditional artisanal method to make vinegar, called "truciolo" to craft this lovely white wine vinegar from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes harvested in September.
The aroma is delicate and subtle, and the flavor is elegant and full bodied.
The Truciolo method uses wood-shavings because of their advantages of preserving the original quality of the wine while giving a satisfactory yield. To make fine vinegar you must begin with good quality wine. This wine slowly percolates into a tank through three tiers of stainless-steel baskets loosely filled with wood shavings (oak and chestnut) and dried vine (grape) cuttings. These allow the wine to oxidize and provide a support for the bacteria. This method, which takes about two or three weeks, preserves the aroma and flavor of the wine.
Castello di Volpaia White Wine Vinegar is then aged in chestnut and oak wood vats for 2 to 3 months. Due to the aging process the color of the vinegar is dark straw.
The vinegar reaches its full maturity only after long, slow barrique aging in small oak and chesnut barrels (225 liters). The result is an intensely aromatic vinegar of exceptional roundness, with a rich flavor that enhances foods from salads to meats to fish..
A little sediment in the bottom of the bottle is a natural byproduct of the process and will not detract from the qualities of the vinegar.
