Everything you need to know about Villa Vinaigres and its vinegars

Vinegar is acidic, sour wine (literally “vin aigre” in French). The wine’s alcohol is transformed into acetic acid by naturally occuring bacterias. To know more, consult our section Artisan Vinegar: Our Expertise.

Passion, time and using natural ingredients are what makes our selection of vinegar authentic, flavoursome and complex all at once. It defies all competition, with taste as proof.

Making natural wine without adding yeast may work well in a cellar where a large amount of wine has been produced since yeast is already strongly present. Our atelier, however, smells like vinegar. This environment is rich in acetobacter, which winemakers fear in their cellar. Thanks to our understanding of yeast and bacteria’s functioning as well as the conditions they need to proliferate, we are able to produce wines in this unlikely place, avoiding aromatic deviance and acetic souring. Hence, we prefer to add yeast, which is sourced naturally, as all we use.

The adjective “balsamic” refers to “balm”, a resinous substance extracted from plants. Figuratively, balm alleviates the sorrows. In the vinegar world, it is said that balsamic vinegar features a rich texture and aroma.

It is traditionally made from cooked grape must that is then aged in wooden casks for a period of time – anywhere from 3 years to more than 150 years!

Common balsamic vinegar is often a product of commercial quality, aged from 3 to 5 years, made from a mix of wine vinegar and grape must that is concentrated and/or cooked, even occasionally from caramel.

Traditional balsamic vinegar DOP, whether of Modena or Reggio Emilia, is only made with cooked and strongly concentrated grape must – reduced to more than 60% by evaporation. It must minimally be of 12 years of age prior to being bottled.

Certain products on the market simply wear the name “balsamic” without being preceded by “vinegar”. You will then like to pay attention to its acidity level… Legally, in Canada, vinegar must contain a minimum of 4,1% of acidity, while balsamic often features only 3%. It is not vinegar, hence so low in acetic acid.

La Villa vinaigres & jardins only produces vinegars, whether they are balsamic or not, but no balsamics. The cuvée Les Voiles, for instance, is maple vinegar with added maple syrup (much like must reduction) aged in bourbon casks. Courtepointe and Nocturne offer another variation on the balsamic vinegar topic: they are essentially honey vinegar in which we add honey.

Two types of sediment can be found in vinegar:

First are matters in suspension in the liquid and sinking to the bottom with time, very much like old wines. Our vinegar is nonfiltered. Although we allow it to settle naturally before bottling, a small deposit can occur. Filtration would make a more limpid liquid but would reduce the intensity of its flavour by removing the aromatic particles, hence we keep our vinegar unfiltered.

The second possible sediment features more of a gelatinous aspect. It consists of a mass of cellulose formed with the action of acetobacter and generally is called “the mother”. This one can develop inside the bottle with the slight amount of oxygen there is. Although this viscous mass is as harmless as residual sediments, if it grows, removing it and storing the bottle in the refrigerator would be preferable to prevent it from re-forming since it could eventually degrade the vinegar’s quality by reducing its acidity level.

Vinegar being a preservative by nature (hello marinades), the bottles can be stored in the pantry, ideally away from light. As for any food, light and heat are degradation factors.

Our products keep well in ambient temperature for a few years. Their taste evolves gradually with time in the same way as wine. They could be stored in the refrigerator to preserve them even longer since it slows down this evolution.