How to start or acquire a vinegar “mother"

Is it like sourdough bread (which I’ve done many times in the past) where you can just let “feral” local yeasts colonize your old tired vino, or do you need to add a specific culture or get a nip from someone else’s mother?

Thank you!

Either way. Faster if you can borrow some. But mine developed naturally over a month or so.

More information please. I have been interested in using left over wine to do this to make Grand and Premier cru vinegar.

I bought a large glass container with a top and spigot at Costco (something like this http://www.infused-vodka.com/browseproducts/Infused-Vodka’s-Glassware–Clear-Messina-204-oz-Glass-jar-with-spigot.html I just pour undrunk, but not flawed, wine into the container. I have a dishcloth over the top and then the glass lid on top, so that some air can enter but bugs and varmints can’t. I do red and white vinegars in separate containers.

The mother developed spontaneously. I now have to clean the containers periodically, as the mother grows and grows, looking like calves liver. Delicious stuff. (The vinegar, not the mother.)

The easiest way is if you can find some natural vinegar to begin with. Many years ago I bought a bottle of Draeger’s vinegar made from Ridge wine. When I had almost emptied the bottle, I started refilling it with leftover wine, and I’ve had home-made vinegar ever since.

Interesting…

I have tried this before and couldn’t seem to get it to work…

Sounds easy though, I might have to try again.

My original bottle had sediment in it and some language on the bottle about it having living stuff in it.

Ok, so it sounds like it is indeed very much like a sourdough (or natural [wink.gif] wine) , where naturally occurring yeasts start the fermentation. I wonder if a pinch of active brewer’s yeast would get things started? I also wonder how much sugar is required for it to work - there would be very little residual sugar in a dry red wine, I would think…?

Vinegar is formed by bacteria in the Acetobacteraceae family, not by yeast, so a pinch of yeast isn’t likely to get things started. The bacteria metabolizes alcohol, so dry wine is fine.

I thought you needed acetobacter which converts alcohol to acid. I don’t know if there are other guys at work too. If you don’t have that conversion, I think your wine will just oxidize.

Thanks, Robert, that ‘splains it. Acetobacteraceae must be common around the world; I’ll know soon enough if it’s autochthonous here in NoVa!

“How to” articles:

I thought you were to start with pasta water?