Minus 8 Vinegar
Minus 8 Vinegar
AVAILABLE ALL YEAR
Minus 8 is a family-owned vineyard in Niagara, Canada, where the hot summers and cold winters allow them to craft exceptional vinegar and verjus from their grapes. Their first and flagship vinegar, Minus 8, was named after the temperature at which the grapes were harvested. An experiment involving a barrel of ice wine and acetobacter starting in 1996 has resulted in 9 vinegars and 3 verjus, sought after by some of the best chefs world wide.
Icewine is made from grapes that remain on the vine during the winter months and naturally freeze allowing the skins to crack and start to slowly begin to oxidise. When the temperatures fall below minus 8 degrees Celsius for several days, the freezing cold naturally concentrates the grape juice. The grapes are then picked and pressed to extract the exceptional juice.
Many of the Minus 8 vinegars and verjus begin with grapes grown, hand-picked and pressed in the style of icewine. Others are made from specifically grown and perfectly ripe tomatoes, or apples picked from local orchards and pressed the same day, grapes grown in the shade, or the best maple syrup made bespoke for Minus 8 in Québec. Some products take months to make, and others many years.
