Red Wine Vinegar from Frontenac Noir Wine

Here at St. Eugene Vinegar Co., we source red wine made from Frontenac Noir grapes grown and fermented locally at the Vankleek Hill Vineyard.

A selection of wines from the Vankleek Hill Vineyard, our local winery and supplier of Frontenac Noir wine for our Red Wine Vinegar. Photo from Vankleek Hill Vineyard.

We like Frontenac Noir wine for four compelling reasons.

1. Local is good.

Teresa and Scott’s vineyard and winery (vankleekhillvineyard.com) is situated just 2 km west of our orchards and cider mill. They are close, trusted neighbours - three generations working on a 55 acre estate. Our red wine vinegar is a collaboration; they grow the Frontenac grapes and ferment them into wine which we then ferment into red wine vinegar. Voila – locally made vinegar reflecting an Eastern Ontario terroir.

2. Frontenac noir grapes are hardy!

They survive and thrive in our -35 C winters here in Eastern Ontario. Frontenac noir is considered a French-American hybrid grape because breeders at the University of Minnesota (mnhardy.umn.edu) crossed a tasty French Landot #4511 grape with a cold hardy variety, native to Eastern Ontario named Vitis riparia. Cold hardiness makes Frontenac noir a popular grape for cold weather viticulture since their release in 1996.

3. Frontenac noir wine is acidic

Typical titratable acidy of 10-15 g/L and a pH of 3-3.2. Wine Enthusiast.com confirms that a “high acid” wine is >7 g/L acid and pH <3.3. We adore acidic wines because they are tart and crisp, have lower oxidation and have a much darker ruby red colour. Contrary to weakly color -pink - commercial red wine vinegar, our vinegar has a deep, saturated burgundy colour.

4. Health benefits

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring substance in grape skins that has been found to reduce the chance of heart disease and cancer (Jang et al, 1997; Pezzuto 2008). Fortunately, V. riparia grapes – like Frontenac noir – when grown in colder regions like Eastern Ontario, produces high levels of resveratrol in their skins (Kaban 2011) and in the wine and ultimately into our vinegar. We just though you should know!

So, if you're seeking a red wine vinegar with a 'fruit forward' bold dark cherry colour and aroma followed by a gracious acetic finish, pick up a bottle at one of our retailers to enjoy.

Grapes at Vankleek Hill Vineyard, East Hawksbury, Ontario (Photo: Vankleek Hill Vineyard)

Resources

Jang, M. et al (1997) Cancer chemo-preventive activity of resveratrol, a natural compound in grapes. Science 275:218-220

Kaban, T. (2011) A strategy to develop prairie grape (Vitis) with high trans-resveratrol production potential. University of Saskatchewan – M.Sc. Thesis.

Pezzuto, J.M. (2008) Grapes and human health. J. Agric. Food Chem. 56(16):6777-6784