After a year researching and writing the Zingerman's Guide to Good Vinegar, this was the best affordable red wine vinegar I tried on that months-long acid(ic) trip. It's excellent, versatile and affordable enough for your everyday eating, marinating and who-knows-whatting. Light-red Rioja wine from northern Spain is naturally converted then moved into old oak barrels, where it spends a solid four years mellowing, intensifying and developing a deep flavor hinting of raspberries, red grapes, and oak.

Use it whenever a recipe calls for "red wine vinegar," and you'll be smiling.