All of our vinegars are available for sale at our Online Shop.
George Paul Vinegars are made in the traditional style from fruits grown by our family and friends here in Nebraska. Our moderately hot, dry days and cool nights, during our short growing season, yield intense and complex flavors in the grapes. Additionally, our limited rainfall drastically reduces disease problems in the vineyards, allowing for more organic growing practices. Starting with superior quality fruit is perhaps the main reason our wine and fruit vinegars are so distinctly flavorful.
We carefully craft wines from each variety of grape and other fruits. Many people who have tasted our wines decry the idea of turning them into vinegar. But you can't make good vinegar without good wine! Our wines are eventually introduced to the acetobacter cultures we have nurtured for many years, which then slowly convert the alcohol to vinegar. The process takes many months, over which time the volume is reduced by as much as 50%, concentrating the flavors and aromas of the fruits. Each variety of grape and fruit is converted to vinegar as a single varietal. It is not until the vinegars are ready for bottling that any blending takes place. Making vinegar in this fashion is truly an artisanal effort, but the art is backed by plenty of science. Each vinegar is carefully monitored - tasted and tested - each week. Once it has achieved the optimal flavor, aroma, and acid level, we draw off a portion of vinegar for bottling or aging in oak barrels, and add more wine to the culture. This ongoing process (called Solera) maintains some continuity in the flavor profile of each vinegar, but gives each vintage its own unique character. Only a very few vinegar makers still employ this slow method of handcrafting fine gourmet vinegars.
All of our vinegars are unfiltered and have between 4-5% acetic acid.
Apple Cider
Our apple cider vinegar is the apple-y-est cider vinegar we've ever tasted. Made from apples grown by Kimmel Orchards in eastern Nebraska, the vinegar preserves the sweet, crisp, just-picked qualities of fresh fall cider. We've been attempting to concentrate the flavors even more and expect future vintages to pack and even bigger apple punch. An all-around delicious addition to pretty much any dish...even a dish of ice cream.
Edelweiss
The "clean and bright" fruitiness of this white wine vinegar definitely lives up to it's name. This is a single variety vinegar, made from the locally grown Edelweiss grape. It is intensely fruity with a nice balance between tart and sweet and hints of pear. A citrus note contributes to its bright finish. Would pair well with grilled fish or nicely dress a summer salad.
Prairie Red
A blend of red wine vinegars, our Prairie Red has incredible flavor complexity with elements of fresh fruit backed by rich pruney depth. Each 'vintage' is a new blend of varietal red wine vinegars, with its own personality. Nevertheless, you can always count on Prairie Red to make a fabulous vinaigrette or add pizazz to cold salads or warm tomato dishes.
Prairie White
All of our white wine grapes have their own very distinctive flavor profiles. Blending them together, you'll find soft tropical flavors alongside elements of pear and rose. It has just enough sweetness to make the fruitiness really pop. A lot of folks claim this is the very best white wine vinegar they've ever tasted.
Temparia
This grape was the first release from Ed Swanson's grape breeding program. Ed's Temparia wine has a very straight-forward Bing cherry nose when young, which turns to more bramble dark fruit as it ages. The vinegar has a similar cherry note, in addition to the deeper, aged flavors. For being a single varietal vinegar, it has surprising complexity and richness, while still managing to feel fresh. A striking floral nose and a wisp of wild rose essence make this vinegar truly unique. Interesting enough to use as an appetizer of its own - drizzled with olive oil for bread dipping.
Brianna
Another varietal white wine vinegar, Brianna has an unmistakable tropical fruit essence. A soft layer of pineapple overlays a note of apricot. With a lovely round mouth feel and a nice balance of sweetness, Brianna is a vinegar well-suited to dessert dishes.
coming soon:
Raspberry
Our raspberry vinegar is heartbreakingly delicious. This isn't wine vinegar flavored with raspberries. This is vinegar made only from raspberries. Our incredible raspberry wine is consumed only on very special occasions in the Johnson household, and if the resulting vinegar wasn't so amazing, we'd never be able to bring ourselves to pour it into the vinegar barrels. But after our first bowl of vanilla ice cream with raspberry vinegar drizzled on top, there was no turning back. It is truly a marvel how much raspberry flavor is carried through to the vinegar. We sold out of our first vintage almost immediately but hope to have it available again by the summer of 2010.
Emilia
Made in a traditional balsamic style, by reducing the must and going straight from juice to vinegar, Emilia has been generating overwhelmingly positive reviews from the chefs who have sampled it. Named after George's daughter Emily, each bottle contains a precious amount of juice, time, and careful thought. The result has all the qualities that first inspired us to attempt making our own. It is mellow, complex, rich, perfectly tart, incredibly sweet. You'll want to sip it as a digestif after a meal or take a daily dose of this precious elixir by the spoonful - Emily does! Enhances even the finest of foods - a few drops can transform a steak. We hope to have a limited edition available by mid-2010, featuring letterpressed labels printed by Emilia herself.