The good news is that recently vinegar has started to make a come-back among gourmands who show as much reverence for acetic acid as they do for wine. The upshot is a slowly-growing clique of artisan vinegar makers who take their art extremely seriously, and gradually the same winemakers lauded for their superior wines - Jerez being the most obvious example - are becoming masters of rich, flavourful vinegars. In fact, it is a more dangerous occupation than one might suppose, for the Acetobacter aceti - the bacteria that turns alcohol into acetic acid - is not something you want hanging around your favourite wine barrels. Those who do take the risk, however, are rewarding us with vinegars as surprising and subtle as any vintage.
From the mouth-puckering sharpness of mass-produced vinegars, Spanish artisan vinegars like Spanish wines have matured and blossomed hugely in recent years. Today they are increasingly aromatic with nuances of spice, fruit, herbs and oak, yet only two regions, the Condado de Huleva for its white vinegars and Jerez-Xeres-Sherry, have been officially recognized by the D.O. Evidently any others in the offing - like Catalunya, say, which I´ll get to presently - will have to wait, for the ´vinegar revolution´is something new in Spain´s ample gastronomic armoury.
Recognizing vinegar as a hip, haute ingredient may be new, but the making of it in Spain dates back to Roman times and in all likelihood much further. It is said to be the oldest condiment after salt, and according to The Vinegar Institute, based in Arizona, USA, the use of vinegar as an ingredient dates back at least ten thousand years. Babylonians were making and selling 'gourmet' vinegars flavoured with fruit, honey and malt as long ago as five thousand years, and it has been used throughout time not only as a flavour enhancer - three drops added at the end of an oil and garlic based emulsion for white fish gives the dressing a memorable edge - but as a restorative, to sooth and to heal.
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