Brian Nagele
So many recipes are often topped off with a touch of acidity. Just a small dose can help a bland dish come to life. This is where red wine vinegar steps in. This is simply processed red wine that has been transformed into an essential ingredient for a range of dishes such as salads and red meat. Red wine vinegar can be used as a dressing, pickling, marinade, and seasoning making it a versatile and much-loved ingredient.
Not all red wine vinegar is the same, however. Some can be weak and thin whereas others can be too acidic. The best red wine vinegars have a mellow flavor to them that makes your mouth water. With so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to choose one that lives up to your expectations. This is where we step in.
We have researched and found the best 6 examples of red wine vinegar on the market today. Read on as we guide you through these vinegars so you can finally complete your dishes with the kick they have been craving.
Pompeian Gourmet Organic Red Wine Vinegar
Our number one choice is Pompeian Gourmet Organic Red Wine Vinegar. This authentic red wine vinegar certainly provides a true taste of Italy thanks to Colavita-aged red wine vinegar. It is made through natural and wonderful traditional methods where the wine is aged and fermented in wooden barrels.
With approximately 6% acidity, Pompeiana Gourmet Organic Red Wine Vinegar is also low in calories making it a superb accompaniment to a range of meals. It is also completely non-GMO as well as gluten-free.
We found that the taste of this red wine vinegar was not overwhelming. While it does sport sharp and tangy notes, it boasts more of a sandalwood flavor. It offers just enough acidity to complement additional flavors in certain meals. As soon as you smell Pompeian Gourmet, the mouth-watering experience will begin so be prepared for some serious salivating.
We chose Pompeian Gourmet Organic Red Wine Vinegar as our top choice for its versatility and overall flavor. It acts as a perfect dressing for vegetable salads and is an ideal marinade for chicken and red meat. Just a couple of these bottles are extremely affordable and will last quite a while. And, its packaging is another joy to behold. They come in a case like red wine making them a wonderful gift for someone or a treat for yourself.
Napa Valley Naturals Organic Red Wine Vinegar
It was a very close call and tough decision between our top two red wine vinegar products. However, as we mentioned, Pompeian Gourmet Organic Red Wine Vinegar pipped the post due to its versatility and unique, mouth-watering flavor.
In second place we have the world-class Napa Valley Natural Organic Red Wine Vinegar. And, guess what – it’s completely organic! This red wine vinegar is sustainably farmed, is pesticide-free, is non-GMO 2, and works as a divine ingredient on pasta, salads, and many more dishes.
There are so many reasons to love this red wine vinegar. It’s great value for money, it’s beneficial to our health and is better than we could have ever expected. No wonder Napa Valley red wine vinegar is so popular in kitchens all over the country.
This impressive red wine vinegar is made from a blend of barrel-aged, high-quality Italian grapes, seeds, olives, nuts, and bottled water from right here in the U.S. The oak barrels are used instead of stainless steel tanks to maintain the acidity and distinct flavors the quality red wines have to offer. Once the wine has aged, it remains unpasteurized and unfiltered for some time. This helps the depth of flavors and richness remain deep in the red wine vinegar.
The finished product is a vinegar with 6% acidity and a mild, fruity flavor. Even with no added sugars and coloring, the natural sulfites help Napa Valley Natural Organic red wine vinegar provide a perfect amount of sweetness to help balance its famous bite and the tartness so often found in red wine vinegar.
It’s not all about the red wine vinegar. The packaging it comes in is also a delight. It is delivered in an elegant bottle that wonderfully displays the vivid ruby colors within. Once you open the bottle, you are met with a reasonably strong but pleasant scent.
Upon tasting Napa Valley Natural Organic red wine vinegar, we found it was not too strong but still provided enough kick and additional flavors to different dishes. Its flavor profile is a little on the tart and fruity side meaning it’s wholly suitable for a range of purposes from vinaigrettes, marinades, to pasta. Certified organic, Napa Valley red wine vinegar is free from BPA, fat, calories, sodium, is non-GMO, and is vegan-friendly. True value for money.
Banyuls Traditional French Red Wine Vinegar
While our top two spots offer great value for money, we found that Banyuls Traditional French Red Wine Vinegar was the best of the budget products we researched. Although cheaper than many, Banyuls Traditional French red wine vinegar is one of the best currently on the market.
This five-year-old premium red wine vinegar is made from French sweet wine. Aged in oak casks for one year beneath the Mediterranean sun, the wine’s essential and mouth-watering qualities are retained beautifully. The result is a vibrant, red coloring to the wine and a wondrous aroma of berry fruits. And, thanks to this manufacturing process, you can be sure that this red wine vinegar will be a perfect salad dressing. Add a few spoons with some pickles and you will be in heaven.
Banyuls Traditional French red wine vinegar is produced at the La Guinelle Vinaigrette overlooking the picturesque hamlet of Cosprons. This wine vinegar is made very slowly and delicately with only Banyuls sweet wine, an AOC fortified aperitif, or dessert wine made from 50%-75% Grenache grapes from local vineyards. Fortunately, the high quality of these ingredients is preserved superbly.
Coming in a 16.9-oz bottle and sporting 6% acidity, the flavor of Banyuls red wine vinegar is pleasingly clean and well balanced. Much to our surprise, it is not as sweet as we expected. Instead, it has an incredibly refined flavor that will be the perfect match for all kinds of dishes, especially grilled sardines. Drizzle Banyuls Traditional French red wine vinegar over everyday salads or add to slow-roasted vegetables. Whether it’s meat, fish, veggies, or fruit, this red wine vinegar is the perfect accompaniment to brighten up your day.
Liokareas Greek Red Wine Vinegar
For an exceptional gluten-free taste, we fully recommend Liokareas Greek Red Wine Vinegar. This affordable but classy wine vinegar is made from Greek red grapes and works incredibly well with tarts. If you’re looking to add a little tangy flavor to your dishes, Liokareas could be what you’re missing.
The area in which Liokarea shines most is with salads. We found it is not only the best gluten-free red wine vinegar on the market but the best with salads. Just a little dash of this can go a long way. Even the blandest of salads can benefit from the deep flavor of Liokareas.
This signature rich flavor pairs wonderfully with meats like beef and pork as well as grilled vegetables. You can even use it as a condiment on an array of different sandwiches. We tried this and trust us, your sandwiches will never be the same again!
Liokareas Greek red wine vinegar comes packaged in an 8.45-oz bottle, offering approximately 17 servings (if it’s 1 tablespoon per serving). This means it should last a while. Even if you go through it quicker than you hoped, its cheap price tag means you can buy a few bottles at a time.
As well as its price, gluten-free properties, and flavor, Liokareas Premium red wine vinegar contains zero calories, trans fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, protein, sodium, or cholesterol. There’s just one ingredient in each bottle – pure organic wine vinegar. Of course, some grape sediments occur naturally too but that’s just nitpicking.
Sourced from five-generation family farms, Liokareas Greek red wine vinegar might be what you have been looking for in terms of fruity flavors and the right amount of acidity for dishes such as tarts.
Colavita Red Wine Vinegar
Just one drop of Colavita Red Wine Vinegar and you will fall in love with it. This Italian wine vinegar uses the same traditional methods of aging fine wines into top-quality red wine vinegar. Aged in sandalwood barrels for long periods of time, Colavita red wine vinegar boasts quite a smoky, strong flavor but it’s certainly not too potent. It achieves that fine balance between potency and mildness.
The taste of Colavite is not overwhelming in any sense. This helps it match very well with meals as it provides just enough flavor to put a spark back into the dish. Its acidity and viscosity are perfectly balanced making it ideal for all kinds of culinary purposes. These include marinating meat, fish, and vegetables, deglazing your cooking pans, and drizzling on all kinds of salads.
Colavita red wine vinegar is low in calories and contains around 6% acidity. It is non-GMO as well as gluten-free (apart from some natural-occurring sulfites) resulting in rather sharp and tangy notes. Of course, these blend nicely with the robust and sandalwood flavor from the casks it is left to age in.
As with many red wine vinegars, Colavita comes in stylish packaging that is pleasing to the eye. If you’re looking for a red wine vinegar that works as a dressing for veggie salads and a marinade for red meats and chicken, Colavita is worth trying. Two bottles of this wine vinegar are extremely affordable and if you can’t think of a gift for someone this Christmas, the elegant packaging of Colavita is a choice.
Mantova Italian Red Wine Vinegar
It’s always useful when ingredients can work in a number of ways and with a variety of dishes. Thankfully, this is exactly what Mantova Italian Red Wine Vinegars offers. Compared to other brands in the same price bracket, Mantova doesn’t taste as strong. Its more balanced flavors match salads and sandwiches beautifully to give a basic dish a little more spark.
Any ordinary meal is immediately transformed into an impeccable dining experience with Mantova Italian red wine vinegar. Whether it’s an appetizer, a main meal, a side dish, or an entree, this red wine vinegar provides a delicious tangy taste and a rich flavor.
Mantova red wine vinegar has 6% acidity and sports the perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. This adds rich flavors and helps tenderize both red meat and chicken. You can even taste small hints of the full-bodied wine from where it originated from.
The ingredients in Mantova contain varieties of grapes grown in Italy. These are selected, blended, and aged on Italian soil resulting in high-quality red wine vinegar that can challenge most on the market. This fine quality is enhanced by the aging process within wooden casks over long periods. This helps to develop a rich depth of flavor that is synonymous with Mantova Italian red wine vinegar.
Although not calorie-free, Mantova does contain very few calories and is loaded with health benefits. Therefore, this red wine vinegar is the ideal choice for diets, the promotion of cardiovascular health, and to help in the stimulation of digestion.
If you’re a little picky with red wine vinegar or know someone that is, Mantova Italian red wine vinegar should be considered. It may be the brand you’ve been longing for all this time and as the vinegar is authentically made in Italy, you can be sure you’re getting the best quality there possibly is.
