Black Current Vinegar

It was half a century ago, but Pete Bradford still remembers walking into the cooler of his granfather's butchery and seeing two wooden barrels full of pig heads —only to exclaim, "Grandpa, that's what I'd like to do some day, make those barrels." But it wasn't until the closure of the General Motors plant Bradford managed in Trenton that he was able to head to Kansas to study how to make wine barrels full time. Now a master cooper, Bradford is one of ony a few left in the country. When he started his coopering business in 2006, he and his wife, Maria, used vinegars to experiment with the different flavours various types of wood would impart on the wine. With a Gamay base blended with a Riesling reduction and fresh black currants from Brighton, Ont., Bradford's popular raw black currant vinegar is aged for 17 years before it hits the shelf. Perfect on pork tenderloin or as an aperitif, this vinegar is acidic up front with a mouthful of flavour. And Bradford's favourite way to enjoy it is blended into melted chocolate and slathered on ribs.

Canadian Vinegar Cellars
canadianvinegarcellars.com | 613.476.4888
Find it at: Black Prince Winery, PEC, online