GIFT GUIDE 2025
This year we've seen vinegar used for everything: soups, sauerbraten, on salads (carrot ginger dressing!). It too has taken us on a journey, from Japan to Buffalo, Northern Michigan for cherry picking, and Mexico to pack pineapples into jars. This season, let vinegar dress up your holidays, with festive colors like red and Greens, or consider religion (e.g Judaism). Whatever have you, let’s all celebrate its universality — as a common pantry item that’s anything but. - Michael Harlan Turkell, editor of VinegarProfessor.com
Pine Needle
Every corner in NYC is perfumed with the scent of pine right now and that aroma turns out to be a welcome scent in vinegar, too. Kookwanmo, a famed Korean maker of traditional black vinegars, makes an incredible pine-scented version For this, brown rice is co-fermented pine needles as well as other local ingredients like ginger and jujube, aged in earthenware urns for at least three years, resulting in something crisp and fortified with a foresty fragrance.
Noma, Aged Pumpkin
I was so excited to try Noma’s latest batch of vinegar during the fall: Aged Pumpkin, but then Trump-imposed tariffs threw it all for a loop, although it’s sold out in the States, look for it overseas and send me a bottle! Aged in whiskey barrels, the vinegar is smoky and sweet, flavored with what Redzepi calls “pumpkin bushi”, a vegan version of Japanese katsuobushi (which is dried tuna loin). Last year we suggested their Wild Rose Vinegar, but now there’s a barrel-aged Wild Rose Balsamic version too!
Black Malt Vinegar from YesFolk
This vinegar is a collaboration between YesFolk, an upstate New York kombucheria and vinegar maker, and Hudson Valley Brewery in Beacon, NY. It’s based on a 3-year-old barrel-aged Imperial Stout that’s further fermentedin American oak barrels for 6 months, before being bottled, and aged, again, for another year. It’s unlike any malt vinegar you’ve ever had—somewhere between a Chinkiang and balsamic—and it’s perfect with fish & chips. Plus, it’s raw and unfiltered, for an unfettered malt-forward flavor.
Gil’s Farmhouse
My son’s name is Gil — so I was immediately drawn to the Rovira Carbonell’s family Spanish wine vinegar from southwestern Catalonia. Their full-bodied Priorat made with organically grown Cariñena (Carignan) and Garnacha (Grenache) grapes, make for a complex sweet-and-sour condiment called Agredolç. The biodynamic red wines from their Mas d’en Gil estate are fermented with a 40-year-old vinegar mother discovered in one of the vintage solera barrel systems to create a vinegar that is so expressive of a place’s past and present at the same time.
VIVO Lambrusco Vinegar
I was tickled when VIVO, a lambrusco vinegar of sorts, reached to say that my book, ACID TRIP, inspired their brand a bit. Peter, one of VIVO’s founders, ran out of red wine vinegar, but Linda, his counterpart, has a bottle of Emilia Romagna wine at the house. Peter mixed the wine with what red wine vinegar he had left and VIVO was born! It’s a condiment that is both dousable and sippable. The Lambrusco is sourced from Modena, Italy, mother country for balsamic vinegar making. VIVO honors the origin area’s storied acidity, working in small-batches, with no sugar added, to create a product that’s something bright and new.
Hawaiian Vinegar Co. Caco Vinegar
Aloha! Hawaii is known for its Polynesian culture, and all the culinary things you’d see at a luau: Kalua pork, Huli Huli Chicken and fresh Poke. There’s also lots of tropical fruit to pick from (e.g. pineapple, papaya), but Hawaiian Vinegar Co.’s Cacao Vinegar chose to go the cacao’s route, harvesting its nectar for a rich and tangy twist on traditional party condiments. Nestled in the Waianae mountains of Oahu, the company upcycles the cacao nectar that’s usually discarded during the bean-to-bar chocolate making process. This vinegar is truly a sustainable source of acidity.
The Giusti Table at Lucciola, NYC
At Lucciola in New York City, Chef Michele Casadei Massari recently introduced The Giusti Table, an immersive six-course tasting dinner entirely dedicated to balsamic vinegar from Modena. Giusti has been making balsamic vinegar since 1605, and now, over 400 years later, reservations for a special 8-top table seating will be available via Resy. The tasting menu features a progression from younger blends to a 100+ year old balsamic, concluding with the Riserva Privata, aged over 40 years for chef Michele, who adopted a line of casks in the acetaia for his restaurant.
Olive & Sinclair, salt & vinegar caramels
Last year, I wrote a piece about salt & vinegar chips; this year I found Olive & Sinclair salt & vinegar caramels and was wowed by the classic combination in a new format. Salted caramel just got one-upped. Handcrafted in Nashville, Tennessee, using acidity to amp up each bite, 12 pieces per box won’t be enough to satisfy that sweet-and-sour tooth.