Vinegar Experiment Part 1

My vinegar mother arrived at my house on Wednesday, and stuck her in my refrigerator until I was ready to deal with her. No, I am not talking about a tiger or overbearing mother, I am talking about acetobacter, a type of bacteria that converts alcohol to acetic acid, the acid found in red wine vinegar. I looked around Nashville for anyone who makes red wine vinegar, and there is no one I know who makes vinegar in and around Nashville for at least 50 miles. I asked the bio dynamic organic farmers I know from Davidson, Macon, Williamson, Sumner and Wilson Counties, and not one makes vinegar. I asked all of the talented cooks from the Nashville food blogging world, and not one makes vinegar. I asked all the farmers from West Farmers Market, and not one makes vinegar. I asked all my buddies who have the Wild Fermentation book, and not one makes vinegar.

Vinegar Mother from 25 year old mother stock from Northampton, MA

So, I decided I wanted known stock with longevity, so I looked back to my old stomping grounds Amherst and Northampton, Massachusetts. Amherst and NoHo are areas where there has been a local organic, vegan, vegetarian, make your own culture for as long as I have known about these towns (so that would be over 30 years). I contacted the NoHo brewing company, and they have 25 year old vinegar mother started with love in Northampton, MA. That is the mother I want, and that is the mother I got.

Red wine turning into vinegar, Day 1

So, here is my container with leftover wine from various bottles, the vinegar mother and a little water. And now I wait.