Making Wine Vinegar From "over the hill" Wine?

Question

Might making vinegar from wine which has aged too long in the bottle work out ok? Opened a bottled of red wine given to me not long ago that was past its prime, a bit oxidized and "vinergary". Might this be ok to use??

Answer 1

Probably not.

When wine is made, sulfites are added to stabilize (prevent additional fermetation) the wine and to act as a preservative.  With the sulfites, the bacteria (acetobacter) that converts the alcohol to acetic acid (vinegar) is inhibited and won't do a good clean job of making vinegar that's fit to consume.

The best bet is to brew wine from scratch with no preservatives and to either inoculate it with an acetobacter culture (called "vinegar mother") or to leave it open to the air where it may acquire a natural culture.