Sour Grapes
The Perfect Companion for Olive Oil

By Nancy Loseke

Filed: February 26, 2008

A distinctive tang in the morning air confirmed we had found the correct address. Our noses picked up the sassy, winey scent of vinegar as soon as we parked and exited the car, deftly separating the smell from the strata of auto and bus exhaust and other “borne-on-the-wind” things that blanket Santiago, Chile on a still day.

We had arrived at the headquarters of Mission Chile SA, producers of Origen Premium Vinegars, for a tasting.

Now, you know I love olive oil. I love vinegar, too, and greatly respect the enduring union the two have enjoyed for centuries.

However, having sampled more than 50 Chilean olive oils the previous afternoon, knowing by heart Chile’s official but slightly unsettling tourism motto—“All ways (sic) a surprise”—and with the fading flavors of a hotel breakfast and strong coffee still in my mouth, I wasn’t sure I was up to a vinegar eye-opener.

But my colleague, TJ Robinson, had set up the 10:30 am appointment days before; there would be no other opportunity for us on this trip to visit this unique vinegar plant before we returned to the US. Besides, our friends Victor Szecowka and Jose Miguel Montes, young olive oil and wine exporters for Millaman/TerraMater, had graciously offered to drive us there. How could we refuse?

Vinegar, from the French vin aigre (“sour wine”), is basically alcohol that has undergone a personality change after befriending natural, airborne bacteria called acetobacters. The bacteria turn the alcohol into acetic acid, a sour thing. (Personally, I think pediatricians better get off the golf course right now and determine if these loose and unsupervised acetobacters affect teenagers. It could explain a lot.)

The conversion of alcohol to vinegar seems, to the uninitiated, like a fairly simple process. But much can go wrong.

If you were sentient in the 1970s, you may remember being advised by cooking magazines of the day to combine the dregs of unfinished bottles of wine and wait for the magic to happen—the formation of a floating and slimy but benevolent bacterial “mother”, and ultimately, “gourmet” vinegar.

Did that work for you? It certainly didn’t work for me.

I really did try, combining a couple of undistinguished bottles of wine from the State Store in a stoneware crock covered with cheesecloth. This pathetic, burgundy-colored brew languished on my kitchen counter for weeks. I nervously checked on it from time to time—after all, I already had a failed sourdough starter experiment on my rap sheet—and eventually succeeded in cultivating a malevolent-looking slick of blooming, bluish mold; definitely not a good “mother”.

Anyone could see that. I dumped the scum, scrubbed out the crock, and went back to buying mostly supermarket vinegar, an M.O. I only abandoned after my Chilean epiphany.

Where my vinegar experiment failed, the one undertaken by the co-founders of Origen Premium Vinegars, Verónica Larrain and María Inés Irarrázaval, succeeded spectacularly. They had an edge going in: Both are agricultural engineers specializing in enology and fruiticulture.

They’ve since been joined by longtime friend Caroilna Grez, also an agricultural engineer and a trained sommelier. All these young women are sharp, attractive and passionate about what they do.

“Even in college, we wondered why Chile, with its award-winning wines, wasn’t in the vinegar market,” said Verónica. “It seemed like a natural thing to do.”

Verónica and María Inés spent more than two years studying vinegar and developing a business plan. Significantly, they created from scratch a bacterial matriarch capable of nurturing generations of balanced and flavorful acetic offspring.

Eschewing modern production techniques and soulless, stainless steel tanks,
the women began making vinegar in French oak barrels using the now-rarely employed Orleans method.

In the Middle Ages, the Loire Valley river town of Orleans was awash in spoiled wine that merchants deemed unworthy of shipment to the Parisian market some 70 miles away. Rather than wasting it, enterprising Orleanais turned the wine into vinegar. They stored the casks on their sides, drilled additional bungholes, and introduced healthy, lively “mothers” to the orphaned plonk.

This is essentially what Verónica, María Inés, and Caroilna do with one notable exception: The original practitioners of the Orleans method used marginal wines to make vinegar, Origen Premium Vinegars uses
very quaffable Chilean wines—Cabernet Sauvignon (from the Colchagua Valley) and Chardonnay (from the Casablanca Valley)—as starting points.

The conversion of wine to vinegar takes several weeks, after which it is aged for several months. Some casks are macerated with very carefully selected herbs, fruits, and nuts.

In addition to pure Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay vinegars, the Origen line now includes the following flavored vinegars:

Basil Red Wine Vinegar
Cherry-Raspberry Red Wine Vinegar
Mint Red Wine Vinegar
Tangerine White Wine Vinegar
Green Chili White Wine Vinegar
Roasted Almond White Wine Vinegar

We tasted all by briefly soaking white sugar cubes in small cups of vinegar, holding the cubes between thumb and index finger, and sucking.
The sugar neutralizes the vinegars’ acidity, which can be distracting to human taste receptors, and amplifies the base flavors and any balance issues.
(Try it with whatever vinegars you have in your pantry. You’ll be surprised!)

I returned home with as many bottles of these marvelous vinegars as I could carry. But once back in my own kitchen, I was torn between the urge to hoard them—at the time, the Origen partners had not yet found a US distributor—and the urge to profligately experiment with them.

Happily, the Origen Premium Vinegars now have at least limited distribution in the US. If you’re a retail customer, you can buy individual bottles at www.casaoliver.com, a Seattle-based company specializing in Spanish products.

If you’re a wholesaler interested in case purchases, contact www.zocalogourmet.com.

Origen’s own website (www.vinagresorigen.cl) gives recipes and suggestions in Spanish and English for using the vinegars, i.e., Mint Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Vinegar with lamb or chocolate desserts, Cherry/Raspberry Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Vinegar for duck, or Basil Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Vinegar for a winter-appropriate lentil salad (see
below).

If fresh tomatoes were in season, you can bet this is the vinegar I’d grab for drizzling, along with a great olive oil, over alternating slices of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.

LENTIL SALAD WITH
ORIGEN BASIL CABERNET SAUVIGNON VINAIGRETTE

For the lentils:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion Spanish onion, diced (about 1/2 of one large onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled, trimmed, and diced
• 1 stalk celery, trimmed and diced
• 2-1/2 cups brown lentils, washed and picked over
• 3 cups water, or more as needed, or substitute chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves

For the vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup Origen Basil Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime zest, or more to taste
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:

• 2 tablespoons red onion, diced, or more Spanish onion
• 2 tablespoons red or green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves (or substitute fresh parsley), chopped

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Add the Spanish onion and cook until the onion is translucent, but not browned. Add the garlic, carrot, and celery and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, again, not letting the vegetables brown.

Add the lentils, water, and bay leaves to the vegetables and cook until the lentils are tender, but not mushy. (Monitor the water level to make sure they don’t dry out or scorch.) Drain the lentils, discarding the bay leaves and any unabsorbed liquid.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the vinegar, remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, lime zest, and salt and pepper to taste. Shake vigorously to emulsify the vinaigrette. (Alternatively, whisk the ingredients in a small bowl.)

To serve, combine the lentils with the red onion, bell pepper, and cilantro.
Pour the vinaigrette (reshake or rewhisk if needed) over the lentils, and mix gently. Can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature. Serves 8 as a side dish. Recipe adapted from Origen Premium Vinegars.

CILANTRO PEBRE

My Chilean friends have coached me tirelessly in pronouncing several Spanish words, but “pebre,” is one I’m still insecure about. It has more syllables than you’d expect (if you don’t speak Spanish), and to my ear,
sounds like PEV-a-ray. Or maybe PEB-er-ray. I don’t know for sure.

 What I do know is that I love it. It’s a fresh, bright-tasting salsa-like relish that works with everything from eggs to seafood to lamb. With a splash of Origen Green Chili Chardonnay Wine Vinegar, I can assure you…it’s over the top.

• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions (6 or 7), white and green parts thinly sliced
• 1 to 2 green chiles (such as serrano or jalapeno), stemmed, seeded, and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Origen Green Chili Chardonnay Wine Vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Water

In a bowl, combine the cilantro, green onion, and chile peppers. Add the vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. If a bit more juice is needed, add a tablespoon or so of cold water. Best when made no more than an hour or two before serving. Makes about 1-1/4 cups.

TRAVEL TIP

Packing light is not only an eco-friendly thing to do, but it could save you money upon check-in. United Airlines recently announced it will begin charging passengers with discounted fares $25 to check a second bag.

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