Katz Zinfandel Agrodolce Vinegar

375 ml - Suisun Valley, California

In Italian, "agrodolce" means "sweet and sour," and this nuanced vinegar beautifully expresses both. Albert and Kim Katz have long been fascinated by the idea of marrying the sweetness and complexity of wine grapes that have been left on the vine to concentrate the flavors and natural sugars, together with bright and crisp acidity.

The versatility of this elixir will expand anyones dish. This excellent Zinfandel vinegar has a rich, complex sweet and sour flavor—try sipping a bit from a spoon. While the nose combines fruity with pleasantly sharp, the flavor is rich, mellow, and winey.

Use this sweet and sour vinegar anytime you'd use red wine vinegar. For a simple salad dressing, add just a drizzle of olive oil, along with salt and pepper. You'll find you need less oil with the balanced acidity in AgroDolce than in your regular dressing recipe. It's great for sautéing, stir-fries, and marinades.

It particularly complements tomatoes, and it's just wonderful when reduced and sprinkled over figs, perhaps accompanied by some semi-firm white cheese.

Perhaps the best surprise is that because there is enough sugar in agrodolce vinegar, you can reduce it in a pan to create a wonderful syrupy topping for everything from fruit to steaks!

The Zinfandel grapes that go into this product are harvested late, after their sugars are fully developed. The fermented juice from the grapes is added to oak barrels along with an established vinegar "mother." The finished Zinfandel vinegar has a jammy texture with fresh berry overtones and a tart, crisp finish.