I normally buy it at Auchan, although last time I bought white vinegar I opted for apple cider vinegar, which I use like white wine vinegar. Maille do a Chardonnay vinegar, U I think does a home brand, but there are lots and I've never had trouble finding it; the difference is that your store will probably only carry 1 or 2 brands of plain white wine vinegar (maybe they have to leave room on the shelves for all the aromatised varieties ).

Many French people I know use left over white wine that has gone a little sour.

 

So -- too all the foodies out there who value a flavorful vinegar capable of brightening a sauce or dish without discoloring it: where do you find plain white wine vinegar?

Drives me nuts.

Like EH, I use apple cider vinegar for salad dressings, mayonnaise etc, though I find that you get what you pay for!

In the UK I love French Mustard; there's no such thing here! We are often sold products that just aren't!!

Gypsycob x

 

What do you call French mustard in the UK??? In Australia, French mustard would usually be moutarde de Dijon, but these days it's usually sold as that. Moutarde a l'ancienne might be sold in Oz as that, otherwise it's called wholegrain mustard, but then it's not a French brand.

 

I "inherited" a bottle of white wine vinegar from a German friend when she moved back to . I think she generally bought that sort of "unusual" item at a "health food store" (i.e. "bio" store or in the bio section of a large hypermarket). Honestly, it's not used that much here.... but if you want, you can always make your own. Most stores with kitchen items will sell you a vinegar crock. Just pour the leftovers of a few bottles of white wine that have turned into the crock and let 'er rip. Or let a half a bottle of white wine go bad and use that as your starter.

We never buy red wine vinegar, thanks to the vinegar crock we have. No reason you couldn't do the same with white wine.
Cheers,
Bev

 

I love cooking and do a lot of it but I don't think I've ever needed, used or even owned white wine vinegar! I use white wine straight, ACV or any other variety from balsamic through to interesting ones!

 

No I didnt' know that so scary the handful of companies that own so many traditional brands both here and Oz/UK/US

I presumed it mustn't have been too hard to find as mum always had it and I grew up in Cowra in central west NSW - hardly a culinary hotspot (at the time - quite good wines and restaurants now!) LOL! I havent' looked online but did see a short news item on the Maille shop in Paris (I think) where they had some huge number of varieties (65 perhaps) of it which I thought was interesting as here I have only seen the plain and wholegrain I think (hmm maybe something else - tarragon maybe?).

 

OK -- this is going to seem like a very navel-gazing question, but here it goes: I cook. I'm no master chef, but I know my way around a kitchen and can make many types of food, including sauces.

That brings me to the title of this thread: white wine vinegar.

It's a common ingredient. Of key importance to vinaigrette salad dressing as well as many sauces including buerre blanc.

And yet it's almost impossible to find in . In the U.S., one could find white wine vinegar in pretty much any well-stocked supermarket. Here, I've been to Franprix, Carrefour, Marché U, Cerise et Potiron, Casino, and a few ethnic grocers, and none have white wine vinegar. Oh, one could find all kinds of balsamic vinegars, plain red wine vinegar, and white wine vinegar with the essence of nuts or tarragon. But no plain white wine vinegar.

Why? It's a staple in a well-stocked kitchen.

We have a bottle that has about 1 cm of liquid left in it, but can't recall where we bought it. By process of elimination, it may have been Auchan, but why would this common ingredient be limited to one store?

So -- too all the foodies out there who value a flavorful vinegar capable of brightening a sauce or dish without discoloring it: where do you find plain white wine vinegar?

Bonus question: why would such a common, and -- yes -- French ingredient be so rare in French markets? I could buy French white wine vinegar in the U.S. without a problem. I can't find it here.

Drives me nuts.

Your question is both intriguing and perplexing! It’s fascinating how certain ingredients, even those that seem common, can be elusive depending on the locale.

 

This is a really old thread - probably time to close it out.