Sparrow Lane — Champagne Vinegar

If you only own one vinegar, this is the one: light, delicate, and never the loudest thing on the plate.

Champagne vinegar is made from the same grapes as sparkling wine and comes out crisp and clean with low aggression, which is exactly what you want most nights. It lifts a dressing without announcing itself. Sparrow Lane makes theirs the Orleans way, slowly, in oak barrels, from California wine, with no dyes or artificial preservatives. Chefs reach for this one more than any other bottle on the shelf.

Who this is for

• Butter lettuce and any salad where the greens are the point
• Beurre blanc, hollandaise and pan sauces
• Poaching eggs (a splash in the water)
• Mignonette for oysters
• Anyone who finds regular white wine vinegar too sharp

Details

6.75 oz / 200 ml glass bottle. 6% acidity. Shelf stable.

Made by Sparrow Lane in Ceres, just south of Modesto. Started in Napa Valley over eighteen years ago, they make chef-grade vinegars from California wines and fruit using the slow Orleans method in oak barrels.