The lost art of artisanal vinegar-making is resurrected on le d'Orlans

When Vincent Nolset out to become an artisanal vinegar-maker, he travelled throughout Europe to Poland, Scandinavia, Italy and France to see how it was done.

What he discovered left him disappointed.

"Most of the vinegars we found was made from white vinegar, flavoured with fruit juices or essences," said Nol.

"It was almost impossible to find products that were made directly from the fruit, and according to ancient methods."

Today,Noland his wife France Gagnon are doing their part to bring the craft of vinegar-making back from the brink, employing methods that are nearly extinct worldwide.

Their farm, Du Capitaine Ferme et Vinaigrerie, onle d'Orlans, just east of Quebec City, is North America'slargest organic producer ofcassis or blackcurrants, in English.

Bacteria imported from France

Next to their fields is an oldvinegar cellar, one of the few left in the world. The pungentsmell of vinegar wafts through the air familiar, but less acrid than the smell of industrial white vinegar.

More than a dozen oak barrels sit inside the cellar, each covered loosely with cloth.

Every piece of metal inside the cellar light fixtures, door handles, even theroof has beeneaten away by rust.

The sight of it would bea winemaker's nightmare, but it makes perfect sense for someonecrafting vinegar.

It's a corrosive process one that involves introducing acetobacter, a kind of bacteria that converts ethanol to acetic acid in the presence of oxygen, to the blackcurrant stock.

The blackcurrants areharvested when they are at their mostripe, then pressed into a concentrated juice which naturally contains very low sugar levels and high acidity.

"These are two of the most important criteria for making vinegar instead of alcohol,"said Nol.

The liquid is then slowly fermented with yeast before being transferred into the oak barrels for aging.

It takes six years of fermentation for the vinegar to beready, and as it ferments, the sharpness of the vinegar mellows, "tomake way for a much more charming experience,"Nol said.

The vinegar maker brought the strain of bacteria he uses backfrom a craft vinegar house in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of France the only place wherevinegar-making isstill being treated as an art, Nolsaid.

Pricey, but 'a source of enjoyment'

Craft products like his come with a higherprice tag than some people may be used to, which Nol admits often ends up being a barrier for "those who are not used to vinegar as a source of enjoyment."

A 250-ml bottle of organic blackcurrant vinegar from Du Capitaine Ferme et Vinaigrerie costs $16. Compare that to regular white vinegar, which sells for about $1.50 a litre.

"Sometimes I think about making a more commercial type of vinegar, but it's against my philosophy,"Nolsaid.

"I want to make the best product possible, period. The world has lost that with vinegar."

Nol's latest creation, a melilot flower vinegar, is currently being tested by chef Arnaud Marchand at Chez Boulay, a restaurant in Old Qubec that specializesin Nordic cuisine.

The next logical step forNoland Gagnon is to start distilling their own fruit, he said.

They are also developing an alcohol, in collaboration with Distillerie de Montral's Lilian Wolfelsberger.

"Most distillers in Qubec buy grain alcohol from Ontario," Nol said.

"I want to go back to the basics and start off by making alcohol from my own fruit."