RED WINE VINEGAR
Popular in rice-growing regions, especially China and Japan, these vinegars are made from fermented rice or fermented rice wine. Chinese rice vinegars are usually stronger and darker than those of Japan, which are relatively mild and mellow.

Just as with grapes, rice comes in multiple colors and its color will dictate the vinegar’s color. Black rice vinegars are smoky and best for braising meat. Red rice vinegars have tart and sweet qualities and are used in soups and with seafood. White rice vinegars are mild and soft. Use them in salad dressings, sauces, or as condiments on fish, vegetables, and grain dishes.

RICE VINEGAR: BLACK, RED & WHITE
Popular in rice-growing regions, especially China and Japan, these vinegars are made from fermented rice or fermented rice wine. Chinese rice vinegars are usually stronger and darker than those of Japan, which are relatively mild and mellow.

Just as with grapes, rice comes in multiple colors and its color will dictate the vinegar’s color. Black rice vinegars are smoky and best for braising meat. Red rice vinegars have tart and sweet qualities and are used in soups and with seafood. White rice vinegars are mild and soft. Use them in salad dressings, sauces, or as condiments on fish, vegetables, and grain dishes.

SHERRY VINEGAR
Made like sherry from a blend of different wines, authentic sherry vinegar is made in Spain using the solera style of aging, fermented for years in a series of increasingly smaller oak barrels. This long aging process and artisan technique commands a higher price tag than most other vinegars. A dark, intensely flavored vinegar with a sweet finish, sherry vinegar is used like fine balsamic to add a gourmet touch to dishes. Like the wine, the vinegar induces a connoisseur’s vocabulary: the attributes “fat” and “rich” are often given to vinegars made from sherry, and a fine product’s complexity can be considered “mellow.” There are many gourmet recipes for sherry vinegar; it should also be used with salads featuring cheese.

WHITE BALSAMIC or GOLDEN BALSAMIC VINEGAR
White or golden balsamic vinegar is made in the balsamic style, with trebbiano, a white grape, but without the dark grapes that contribute to the dark color of regular balsamic. It is blended with white wine vinegar.

White balsamic was created in the same area of Italy (Modena) as traditional balsamic vinegar. It was developed as a lighter color option for use in light-colored sauces and vinaigrettes.

In addition to vinaigrettes and sauces, use it to deglaze a pan and to dress roasted vegetables.

Although it was introduced as white balsamic, it has a golden color. More recently, producers have been calling it golden balsamic: It’s the same thing.

White/golden balsamic has a sweet-and-tart flavor profile like the conventional product, but It tends to be sweeter than conventional balsamic.

As with dark balsamic, the grape must (the freshly-crushed grape juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit) is simmered, but avoids the caramelization that turns the grape must dark. The result is also aged for less time, in oak or stainless steel barrels.

And as with traditional balsamics, there are all levels of quality and price, and “factory made” balsamics that are white vinegar doctored to look and taste like an authentically-produced balsamic.

WINE VINEGAR
While most vinegars in this category are made from red and white wine, there are specialty variations like champagne and sherry vinegars. As with wine, red wine vinegar is aged longer (up to 2 years), while white wine can be aged for as briefly as a few weeks. Red wine vinegars tend to have more roundness of flavor, but white wine vinegars are better suited for lighter-colored sauces and other dishes where the red color would be intrusive.

It follows that the higher quality wine used, the better the taste of the vinegar; and the producers of better wine vinegars describe their vinegars as “subtle” and “complex.” Vanity wine vinegars are those made from specific varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, et al. Using a varietal wine creates a higher-caliber and more expensive product.

White wine vinegar (photo by Melody Lan | THE NIBBLE).